Remote Laboratories or WebLabs constitute a first-order didactic resource in engineering facultie... more Remote Laboratories or WebLabs constitute a first-order didactic resource in engineering faculties. However, in many cases, they lack a proper software design, both in the client and server side, which degrades their quality and academic usefulness. This paper presents the main characteristics of a Remote Laboratory, analyzes the software technologies to implement the client and server sides in a WebLab, and correlates these technologies with the characteristics to facilitate the selection of a technology to implement a WebLab. The results obtained suggest the adoption of a Service Oriented Laboratory Architecturebased approach for the design of future Remote Laboratories so that client-agnostic Remote Laboratories and Remote Laboratory composition are enabled. The experience with the real Remote Laboratory, WebLab-Deusto, is also presented.
Remote engineering (also known as online engineering) may be defined as a combination of control ... more Remote engineering (also known as online engineering) may be defined as a combination of control engineering and telematics. In this area, specific activities require computacional skills in order to develop projects where electrical devives are monitored and / or controlled, in an intercative way, through a distributed network (e.g. Intranet or Internet). In our specific case, we will be dealing with an industrial plant. Within the last few years, there has been an increase in the number of activities related to remote engineering, which may be connected to the phenomenon of the large extension experienced by the Internet (e.g. bandwith, number of users, development tools, etc.). This increase opens new and future possibilities to the implementation of advance teleworking (or e-working) positions. In this paper we present the architecture for a remote application, accessible through the Internet, able to monitor and control a roller hearth kiln, used in a ceramics industry for firing materials. The proposed architecture is based on a micro web server, whose main function is to monitor and control the firing process, by reading the data from a series of temperature sensors and by controlling a series of electronic valves and servo motors. This solution is also intended to be a low-cost alternative to other potential solutions. The temperature readings are obtained through K-type thermopairs and the gas flow is controlled through electrovalves. As the firing process should not be stopped before its complete end, the system is equipped with a safety device for that specific purpose. For better understanding the system to be automated and its operation we decided to develop a scale model (100:1) and experiment on it the devised solution, based on a Micro Web Server.
This work studies a didactical implementation addressing the development of students' compete... more This work studies a didactical implementation addressing the development of students' competences on DC circuits. The teacher major concern was to approach this subject using several resources and methods in order to improve students' abilities of adapting and dealing with available tools to solve real practical problems. This research studies the impact of these different resources and methods in terms of students' perception, usage and learning results. This design represents a long-term vision, and although the majority of students do not immediately understand it, with some adjustments, some identified in this work, this course may become more effective in improving students' learning in the future.
Each knowledge area has its own evolutionary way, splitting in new knowledge areas, or simply aba... more Each knowledge area has its own evolutionary way, splitting in new knowledge areas, or simply abandoning some subjects to make room for new ones. As a result we can perceive the tendency for a given subject being treated differently, according to the course where it is taught. Thus, teaching electronics is different in an Electronics Course than in an Electric Power Systems Course. In the first this subject assumes some deepness while in the second it is, at best, only superficially presented. This strategy presents some advantages for the student, like cost and time requirements, and mainly the ability to move quickly into the labor market. Nevertheless we can identify some crucial drawbacks in this approach, mainly the very weak skill level attained in some crucial subjects, usually in the boundary between established knowledge areas. So, instead of getting solid skills about crucial electric and electronic components, students are often presented with simpler interface models, i....
Fragmentation on dynamically reconfigurable FPGAs is currently a major obstacle to the efficient ... more Fragmentation on dynamically reconfigurable FPGAs is currently a major obstacle to the efficient management of its logic space. When resource allocation decisions have to be made at run-time a relocation of currently running functions may be necessary to release enough contiguous resources to implement incoming functions. Relocation should take into account any specifics of function's functionality and also those of
The new partial and dynamic reconfigurable features offered by new generations of SRAM-based FPGA... more The new partial and dynamic reconfigurable features offered by new generations of SRAM-based FPGAs may be used to improve the dependability of reconfigurable hardware platforms through the implementation of on-line concurrent testing / fault-tolerance mechanisms. However, such mechanisms call for the development of new test strategies that do not interfere with the current system functionality. The AR2T (Active Replication and
In the last few years, an increasing use of Programmable Logic Devices (PLDs) in the development ... more In the last few years, an increasing use of Programmable Logic Devices (PLDs) in the development of new embedded and systems-on-a-chip (SoC) solutions created the need of new test procedures for this kind of components. Several approaches, depending on the type of PLDs used, were proposed in the literature, addressing the test of the configurable logic array, the interconnection arrays
Partial and dynamically reconfigurable SRAM-based FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Arrays) enable t... more Partial and dynamically reconfigurable SRAM-based FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Arrays) enable the implementation of reconfigurable systems hosting several applications simultaneously, which share the available resources according to the functional requirements that are present at any given moment. Time and space sharing strategies enabled the concept of virtual hardware, supporting the concurrent implementation of applications which would otherwise require far more
Proceedings 2002 Design, Automation and Test in Europe Conference and Exhibition, 2002
This poster presents the first truly non-intrusive structural concurrent test approach, aimed to ... more This poster presents the first truly non-intrusive structural concurrent test approach, aimed to test partial and dynamically reconfigurable SRAM-based FPGAs without disturbing its operation. This is accomplished by using a new methodology to carry out the replication of active Configurable Logic Blocks (CLBs), i.e. CLBs that are part of an implemented function that is actually being used by the system, releasing it to be tested in a way that is completely transparent to the system.
Proceedings Seventh International On-Line Testing Workshop, 2001
Reconfigurable systems have benefited of the novel partial dynamic reconfiguration features of re... more Reconfigurable systems have benefited of the novel partial dynamic reconfiguration features of recent FPGA devices. Enabling the concurrent reconfiguration without disturbing system operation, this technology has raised a new test challenge: to assure a continuously fault free operation, independently of the circuit present after many reconfiguration processes, testing the FPGA without disturbing the whole system operation.
Proceedings of the Eighth IEEE International On-Line Testing Workshop (IOLTW 2002), 2002
The reusing of the same hardware resources to implement speed-critical algorithms, without interr... more The reusing of the same hardware resources to implement speed-critical algorithms, without interrupting system operation, is one of the main reasons for the increasing use of reconfigurable computing platforms, employing complex SRAM-based FPGAs. However, new semiconductor manufacturing technologies increase the probability of lifetime operation failures, requiring new on-line testing / fault-tolerance methods able to improve the dependability of the systems where they are included.
Proceedings of EURO-DAC 93 and EURO-VHDL 93- European Design Automation Conference, 1993
Boundary scan is now the most promising technology for testing high-complexity printed circuit bo... more Boundary scan is now the most promising technology for testing high-complexity printed circuit boards. The number of BST components available to board-level designers is however still restricted, limiting the achievable fault coverage. The requirements to improve board-level testability are analysed, and a corresponding set of testability building blocks are proposed. A low-cost and maximum-flexibility solution is described, which implements these blocks on medium-complexity PLDs, using a simple and powerful HDL.
This paper presents a novel on-line test method for partial and dynamically reconfigurable FPGAs,... more This paper presents a novel on-line test method for partial and dynamically reconfigurable FPGAs, based on the active replication of configurable logic blocks (CLBs). Each CLB in the FPGA is released for test and again made available to be reused if fault-free, or removed from operation if faulty. The proposed method continuously scans the whole FPGA without disturbing system operation.
Students experimental competences are of most importance in engineering courses. However in post-... more Students experimental competences are of most importance in engineering courses. However in post-Bologna courses, the number of contact hours and the actual extent of hands-on lab work were substantially reduced. Online resources usage (simulators and remote labs) has been growing up in the last decades, as more complex and versatile tools are being developed. Unfortunately, several of these usages reported in literature do not show the didactical backing that support these implementations. This work is a step forward, explaining how a teacher implemented a combination of online resources in order to develop experimental competences. The results show significant correlations between students' usage of these resources and their calculus competences and final achievements.
Huanglongbing (HLB) is a disease associated with the bacteria "Candidatus Liberibacter spp.&... more Huanglongbing (HLB) is a disease associated with the bacteria "Candidatus Liberibacter spp." and has been devastating citrus orchards around the world. Its management involves control of the insect vector, the Asian citrus psyllid Diaphorina citri Kuwayama. However, the indiscriminate use of chemicals has caused pest outbreaks and eliminated the natural enemies of the vector, such as the parasitoid Tamarixia radiata (Waterston), the main agent for biological control of D. citri. This study assessed the lethal and sublethal effects of insecticides recommended for integrated production of citrus on the parasitoid T. radiata. When adult parasitoids were exposed to residues of 25 insecticides, 20% of them, i.e., gamma-cyhalothrin, etofenprox, azadirachtin, tebufenozide and pyriproxyfen, were considered as harmless (Class 1), 12% as slightly harmful (Class 2), 12% as moderately harmful (Class 3) and 56% as harmful (Class 4), according to the classification proposed by the IOBC/...
Informal Learning is present in everyone's life but its awareness only recently has been repo... more Informal Learning is present in everyone's life but its awareness only recently has been reported. The need to keep track of the knowledge acquired this way is increasing as its sources diversity also increases. This work presents the pilots trials on the use of a tool developed to help keeping track of the learners' informal learning, within a number of European higher education schools. This tool developed through the European Commission founded project TRAILER, is still under development, which will allow integrating the set of improving suggestions obtained from users during the piloting phase. The overall idea of managing one's informal learning was well accepted and welcomed, which validated the emerging need for a tool with this purpose. In higher education schools, this tool also allows students to have a better insight on their academic curricula and the key competences they need to develop further.
2005 IEEE Conference on Emerging Technologies and Factory Automation, 2005
Education. Since remote experimentation, understood as the ability to carry out real-world experi... more Education. Since remote experimentation, understood as the ability to carry out real-world experiments through a simple web browser, is already a proven solution for the educational community as a supplement to on-site practical lab work (and in some cases, namely for distance learning courses, a replacement to that work), the purpose is not to discuss its technical, pedagogical, or economical strengths, but rather to raise and try to answer some questions about the underlying benefits and challenges of establishing a peer-to-peer network of remote labs. Ultimately, we regard such a network as a constructive mechanism to help students gain the working and social skills often valued by multinational/global companies, while also providing awareness of local cultural aspects.
The evolution of new technology and its increasing use, has for some years been making the existe... more The evolution of new technology and its increasing use, has for some years been making the existence of informal learning more and more transparent, especially among young and older adults in both Higher Education and workplace contexts. However, the nature of formal and non-formal, coursebased, approaches to learning has made it hard to accommodate these informal processes satisfactorily. The project aims to facilitate first the identification by the learner (as the last responsible of the learning process), and then the recognition by the institution, in dialogue with the learner, of this learning. To do so a methodology and a technological framework to support it have been implemented. This project have been tested in several context and it is possible to say that an informal learning dialogue between learners and people in chargé of the institutions is possible
Informal Learning is present in everyone's life but its awareness only recently has been reported... more Informal Learning is present in everyone's life but its awareness only recently has been reported. The need to keep track of the knowledge acquired this way is increasing as its sources diversity also increases. This work presents the pilots trials on the use of a tool developed to help keeping track of the learners' informal learning, within a number of companies spread out in three countries. This tool developed through the European Commission funded project TRAILER, is still under development, which will allow integrating the set of improving suggestions obtained from users during the piloting phase. The overall idea of managing one's informal learning was well accepted and welcomed, which validated the emerging need for a tool with this purpose.
Remote Laboratories or WebLabs constitute a first-order didactic resource in engineering facultie... more Remote Laboratories or WebLabs constitute a first-order didactic resource in engineering faculties. However, in many cases, they lack a proper software design, both in the client and server side, which degrades their quality and academic usefulness. This paper presents the main characteristics of a Remote Laboratory, analyzes the software technologies to implement the client and server sides in a WebLab, and correlates these technologies with the characteristics to facilitate the selection of a technology to implement a WebLab. The results obtained suggest the adoption of a Service Oriented Laboratory Architecturebased approach for the design of future Remote Laboratories so that client-agnostic Remote Laboratories and Remote Laboratory composition are enabled. The experience with the real Remote Laboratory, WebLab-Deusto, is also presented.
Remote engineering (also known as online engineering) may be defined as a combination of control ... more Remote engineering (also known as online engineering) may be defined as a combination of control engineering and telematics. In this area, specific activities require computacional skills in order to develop projects where electrical devives are monitored and / or controlled, in an intercative way, through a distributed network (e.g. Intranet or Internet). In our specific case, we will be dealing with an industrial plant. Within the last few years, there has been an increase in the number of activities related to remote engineering, which may be connected to the phenomenon of the large extension experienced by the Internet (e.g. bandwith, number of users, development tools, etc.). This increase opens new and future possibilities to the implementation of advance teleworking (or e-working) positions. In this paper we present the architecture for a remote application, accessible through the Internet, able to monitor and control a roller hearth kiln, used in a ceramics industry for firing materials. The proposed architecture is based on a micro web server, whose main function is to monitor and control the firing process, by reading the data from a series of temperature sensors and by controlling a series of electronic valves and servo motors. This solution is also intended to be a low-cost alternative to other potential solutions. The temperature readings are obtained through K-type thermopairs and the gas flow is controlled through electrovalves. As the firing process should not be stopped before its complete end, the system is equipped with a safety device for that specific purpose. For better understanding the system to be automated and its operation we decided to develop a scale model (100:1) and experiment on it the devised solution, based on a Micro Web Server.
This work studies a didactical implementation addressing the development of students' compete... more This work studies a didactical implementation addressing the development of students' competences on DC circuits. The teacher major concern was to approach this subject using several resources and methods in order to improve students' abilities of adapting and dealing with available tools to solve real practical problems. This research studies the impact of these different resources and methods in terms of students' perception, usage and learning results. This design represents a long-term vision, and although the majority of students do not immediately understand it, with some adjustments, some identified in this work, this course may become more effective in improving students' learning in the future.
Each knowledge area has its own evolutionary way, splitting in new knowledge areas, or simply aba... more Each knowledge area has its own evolutionary way, splitting in new knowledge areas, or simply abandoning some subjects to make room for new ones. As a result we can perceive the tendency for a given subject being treated differently, according to the course where it is taught. Thus, teaching electronics is different in an Electronics Course than in an Electric Power Systems Course. In the first this subject assumes some deepness while in the second it is, at best, only superficially presented. This strategy presents some advantages for the student, like cost and time requirements, and mainly the ability to move quickly into the labor market. Nevertheless we can identify some crucial drawbacks in this approach, mainly the very weak skill level attained in some crucial subjects, usually in the boundary between established knowledge areas. So, instead of getting solid skills about crucial electric and electronic components, students are often presented with simpler interface models, i....
Fragmentation on dynamically reconfigurable FPGAs is currently a major obstacle to the efficient ... more Fragmentation on dynamically reconfigurable FPGAs is currently a major obstacle to the efficient management of its logic space. When resource allocation decisions have to be made at run-time a relocation of currently running functions may be necessary to release enough contiguous resources to implement incoming functions. Relocation should take into account any specifics of function's functionality and also those of
The new partial and dynamic reconfigurable features offered by new generations of SRAM-based FPGA... more The new partial and dynamic reconfigurable features offered by new generations of SRAM-based FPGAs may be used to improve the dependability of reconfigurable hardware platforms through the implementation of on-line concurrent testing / fault-tolerance mechanisms. However, such mechanisms call for the development of new test strategies that do not interfere with the current system functionality. The AR2T (Active Replication and
In the last few years, an increasing use of Programmable Logic Devices (PLDs) in the development ... more In the last few years, an increasing use of Programmable Logic Devices (PLDs) in the development of new embedded and systems-on-a-chip (SoC) solutions created the need of new test procedures for this kind of components. Several approaches, depending on the type of PLDs used, were proposed in the literature, addressing the test of the configurable logic array, the interconnection arrays
Partial and dynamically reconfigurable SRAM-based FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Arrays) enable t... more Partial and dynamically reconfigurable SRAM-based FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Arrays) enable the implementation of reconfigurable systems hosting several applications simultaneously, which share the available resources according to the functional requirements that are present at any given moment. Time and space sharing strategies enabled the concept of virtual hardware, supporting the concurrent implementation of applications which would otherwise require far more
Proceedings 2002 Design, Automation and Test in Europe Conference and Exhibition, 2002
This poster presents the first truly non-intrusive structural concurrent test approach, aimed to ... more This poster presents the first truly non-intrusive structural concurrent test approach, aimed to test partial and dynamically reconfigurable SRAM-based FPGAs without disturbing its operation. This is accomplished by using a new methodology to carry out the replication of active Configurable Logic Blocks (CLBs), i.e. CLBs that are part of an implemented function that is actually being used by the system, releasing it to be tested in a way that is completely transparent to the system.
Proceedings Seventh International On-Line Testing Workshop, 2001
Reconfigurable systems have benefited of the novel partial dynamic reconfiguration features of re... more Reconfigurable systems have benefited of the novel partial dynamic reconfiguration features of recent FPGA devices. Enabling the concurrent reconfiguration without disturbing system operation, this technology has raised a new test challenge: to assure a continuously fault free operation, independently of the circuit present after many reconfiguration processes, testing the FPGA without disturbing the whole system operation.
Proceedings of the Eighth IEEE International On-Line Testing Workshop (IOLTW 2002), 2002
The reusing of the same hardware resources to implement speed-critical algorithms, without interr... more The reusing of the same hardware resources to implement speed-critical algorithms, without interrupting system operation, is one of the main reasons for the increasing use of reconfigurable computing platforms, employing complex SRAM-based FPGAs. However, new semiconductor manufacturing technologies increase the probability of lifetime operation failures, requiring new on-line testing / fault-tolerance methods able to improve the dependability of the systems where they are included.
Proceedings of EURO-DAC 93 and EURO-VHDL 93- European Design Automation Conference, 1993
Boundary scan is now the most promising technology for testing high-complexity printed circuit bo... more Boundary scan is now the most promising technology for testing high-complexity printed circuit boards. The number of BST components available to board-level designers is however still restricted, limiting the achievable fault coverage. The requirements to improve board-level testability are analysed, and a corresponding set of testability building blocks are proposed. A low-cost and maximum-flexibility solution is described, which implements these blocks on medium-complexity PLDs, using a simple and powerful HDL.
This paper presents a novel on-line test method for partial and dynamically reconfigurable FPGAs,... more This paper presents a novel on-line test method for partial and dynamically reconfigurable FPGAs, based on the active replication of configurable logic blocks (CLBs). Each CLB in the FPGA is released for test and again made available to be reused if fault-free, or removed from operation if faulty. The proposed method continuously scans the whole FPGA without disturbing system operation.
Students experimental competences are of most importance in engineering courses. However in post-... more Students experimental competences are of most importance in engineering courses. However in post-Bologna courses, the number of contact hours and the actual extent of hands-on lab work were substantially reduced. Online resources usage (simulators and remote labs) has been growing up in the last decades, as more complex and versatile tools are being developed. Unfortunately, several of these usages reported in literature do not show the didactical backing that support these implementations. This work is a step forward, explaining how a teacher implemented a combination of online resources in order to develop experimental competences. The results show significant correlations between students' usage of these resources and their calculus competences and final achievements.
Huanglongbing (HLB) is a disease associated with the bacteria "Candidatus Liberibacter spp.&... more Huanglongbing (HLB) is a disease associated with the bacteria "Candidatus Liberibacter spp." and has been devastating citrus orchards around the world. Its management involves control of the insect vector, the Asian citrus psyllid Diaphorina citri Kuwayama. However, the indiscriminate use of chemicals has caused pest outbreaks and eliminated the natural enemies of the vector, such as the parasitoid Tamarixia radiata (Waterston), the main agent for biological control of D. citri. This study assessed the lethal and sublethal effects of insecticides recommended for integrated production of citrus on the parasitoid T. radiata. When adult parasitoids were exposed to residues of 25 insecticides, 20% of them, i.e., gamma-cyhalothrin, etofenprox, azadirachtin, tebufenozide and pyriproxyfen, were considered as harmless (Class 1), 12% as slightly harmful (Class 2), 12% as moderately harmful (Class 3) and 56% as harmful (Class 4), according to the classification proposed by the IOBC/...
Informal Learning is present in everyone's life but its awareness only recently has been repo... more Informal Learning is present in everyone's life but its awareness only recently has been reported. The need to keep track of the knowledge acquired this way is increasing as its sources diversity also increases. This work presents the pilots trials on the use of a tool developed to help keeping track of the learners' informal learning, within a number of European higher education schools. This tool developed through the European Commission founded project TRAILER, is still under development, which will allow integrating the set of improving suggestions obtained from users during the piloting phase. The overall idea of managing one's informal learning was well accepted and welcomed, which validated the emerging need for a tool with this purpose. In higher education schools, this tool also allows students to have a better insight on their academic curricula and the key competences they need to develop further.
2005 IEEE Conference on Emerging Technologies and Factory Automation, 2005
Education. Since remote experimentation, understood as the ability to carry out real-world experi... more Education. Since remote experimentation, understood as the ability to carry out real-world experiments through a simple web browser, is already a proven solution for the educational community as a supplement to on-site practical lab work (and in some cases, namely for distance learning courses, a replacement to that work), the purpose is not to discuss its technical, pedagogical, or economical strengths, but rather to raise and try to answer some questions about the underlying benefits and challenges of establishing a peer-to-peer network of remote labs. Ultimately, we regard such a network as a constructive mechanism to help students gain the working and social skills often valued by multinational/global companies, while also providing awareness of local cultural aspects.
The evolution of new technology and its increasing use, has for some years been making the existe... more The evolution of new technology and its increasing use, has for some years been making the existence of informal learning more and more transparent, especially among young and older adults in both Higher Education and workplace contexts. However, the nature of formal and non-formal, coursebased, approaches to learning has made it hard to accommodate these informal processes satisfactorily. The project aims to facilitate first the identification by the learner (as the last responsible of the learning process), and then the recognition by the institution, in dialogue with the learner, of this learning. To do so a methodology and a technological framework to support it have been implemented. This project have been tested in several context and it is possible to say that an informal learning dialogue between learners and people in chargé of the institutions is possible
Informal Learning is present in everyone's life but its awareness only recently has been reported... more Informal Learning is present in everyone's life but its awareness only recently has been reported. The need to keep track of the knowledge acquired this way is increasing as its sources diversity also increases. This work presents the pilots trials on the use of a tool developed to help keeping track of the learners' informal learning, within a number of companies spread out in three countries. This tool developed through the European Commission funded project TRAILER, is still under development, which will allow integrating the set of improving suggestions obtained from users during the piloting phase. The overall idea of managing one's informal learning was well accepted and welcomed, which validated the emerging need for a tool with this purpose.
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Papers by Gustavo Alves