Ricardo Costa - rjc@isep.ipp.pt Gustavo R. Alves - gca@isep.ipp.pt

1. Work-in-progress on a thin IEEE1451.0-architecture to implement reconfigurable weblab infrastructures Ricardo Costa - rjc@isep.ipp.pt Gustavo R. Alves - gca@isep.ipp.pt Mário Zenha-Rela - mzrela@dei.uc.pt REV’11 ConferenceTransylvania University, Brasov, Romania June 28 - July 1, 2011

2. Introduction Traditional weblab infrastructures Architecture Status and problems Proposed solution Architecture Previous work IEEE1451.0 Std. overview Operational sequence Development status Conclusions Presentation outline

3. Introduction Traditional Weblab infrastructures - Architecture - Status and problems Conclusions Proposed solution - Architecture - Previous work - IEEE1451.0 Std. overview - Operational sequence - Development status Introduction Fundamental in S&E courses • Availability; • Reliability; • Flexibility; • Reusability/Interoperability; • Motivation; • Security; • Group activities; • Costs (devices + human actors)... … also named as WEBLABS They are a very important resource for conducting experimental / laboratory work (REMOTE EXPERIMENTATION).

4. Introduction Traditional Weblab infrastructures - Architecture - Status and problems Conclusions Proposed solution - Architecture - Previous work - IEEE1451.0 Std. overview - Operational sequence - Development status Traditional weblab infrastructures - Architecture -

5. Introduction Traditional Weblab infrastructures - Architecture - Status and problems Conclusions Proposed solution - Architecture - Previous work - IEEE1451.0 Std. overview - Operational sequence - Development status Traditional Weblab infrastructures - status and problems - • Status: • specific and distinct technical implementations(several hardware and software tools); • no standard solution for creating weblab infrastructures • Problems: • collaboration among institutions is weakit is difficult the reuse and interface different instruments/modules (I&M) used by a specific experiment; • some institutions do not apply weblabs in their coursessome institutions do not have the required technical skills; • costs may be highcreating a weblab infrastructure requires a PC and associated software, together with several I&M (eventually comprehending several features not required in a specific experiment), and; • constraints for running several experimentsan architecture based on a single PC poses constraints for running several experiments, requiring scheduling techniques (batch or real-time modes).

6. Introduction Traditional Weblab infrastructures - Architecture - Status and problems Conclusions Proposed solution - Architecture - Previous work - IEEE1451.0 Std. overview - Operational sequence - Development status Proposed Solution - Architecture - • replaced by FPGA-based board(s); • the I&Ms will be developed using HDLs (Hardware Description Languages) following the IEEE 1451.0 Std..

7. Introduction Traditional Weblab infrastructures - Architecture - Status and problems Conclusions Proposed solution - Architecture - Previous work - IEEE1451.0 Std. overview - Operational sequence - Development status Proposed Solution - Architecture -

8. Introduction Traditional Weblab infrastructures - Architecture - Status and problems Conclusions Proposed solution - Architecture - Previous work - IEEE1451.0 Std. overview - Operational sequence - Development status Proposed Solution - Previous work - Function generator

9. Introduction Traditional Weblab infrastructures - Architecture - Status and problems Conclusions Proposed solution - Architecture - Previous work - IEEE1451.0 Std. overview - Operational sequence - Development status Proposed Solution - Previous work - Physical interfaces used to control the function generator Ricardo Costa, Gustavo Alves, Mário Zenha-Rela, Rob Poley and Campbell Wishart "FPGA-based Weblab Infrastructures Guidelines and a prototype implementation example" 3rd IEEE International Conference on e-Learning in Industrial Electronics (ICELIE'2009), Porto - Portugal, November 3th to 7th 2009. Control / monitor web interfaces for controlling / monitoring the function generator Developed through a collaboration agreement between CIETI/Laboris and an M.Sc. Student from Heriot-Watt University (Scotland)

10. Introduction Traditional Weblab infrastructures - Architecture - Status and problems Conclusions Proposed solution - Architecture - Previous work - IEEE1451.0 Std. overview - Operational sequence - Development status Proposed Solution - Previous work - It was necessary to specify a logical interface! Some difficulties appeared during the collaboration because… IEEE 1451.0 Std. Difficulties to understand/explain all details… NO STANDARD !!! It defines a set of open, common, network-independent communication interfaces for connecting transducers, will facilitate the implementation and sharing of different instruments/modules, in a compatible weblab infrastructure. It would be difficult to use the FG on another Weblab infrastructure, based on the presented architecture…

11. Introduction Traditional Weblab infrastructures - Architecture - Status and problems Conclusions Proposed solution - Architecture - Previous work - IEEE1451.0 Std. overview - Operational sequence - Development status Proposed Solution - IEEE1451.0 Std. overview - IEEE Standard for a Smart Transducer Interface for Sensors and Actuators Transducer Interface Module (TIM): controls a set of Transducer Channels (TC), implementing commands and protocols, supported on information within Transducer Electronic Data Sheets (TEDS). Network Capable Application Processor (NCAP): performs network and TIM communications, data conversion and processing functions supported on Application Programming Interfaces (APIs).

12. Introduction Traditional Weblab infrastructures - Architecture - Status and problems Conclusions Proposed solution - Architecture - Previous work - IEEE1451.0 Std. overview - Operational sequence - Development status Proposed Solution - IEEE1451.0 Std. overview -

13. Introduction Traditional Weblab infrastructures - Architecture - Status and problems Conclusions Proposed solution - Architecture - Previous work - IEEE1451.0 Std. overview - Operational sequence - Development status Proposed Solution - IEEE1451.0 Std. overview - Example of low-level commands and HTTP API functions

14. Introduction Traditional Weblab infrastructures - Architecture - Status and problems Conclusions Proposed solution - Architecture - Previous work - IEEE1451.0 Std. overview - Operational sequence - Development status Proposed Solution - IEEE1451.0 Std. overview - TEDS: Meta-TEDs; Tranducer Channel TEDs; Calibration TEDs; etc. Meta-TEDs example Can be placed inside the TIM or distributed using a text format (there is a XML schema specified by the Std. to define the TEDs ) Example (chapter 8)

15. Introduction Traditional Weblab infrastructures - Architecture - Status and problems Conclusions 2. Query available weblabs (IEEE1451 Discovery API / HTTP) Commands can be monitored (assessment purposes) 3. Control or Upload new I&M (reconfigure) 1. Registration Proposed solution - Architecture - Previous work - IEEE1451.0 Std. overview - Operational sequence - Development status Proposed Solution - Operational sequence -

16. Introduction Traditional Weblab infrastructures - Architecture - Status and problems Conclusions Proposed solution - Architecture - Previous work - IEEE1451.0 Std. overview - Operational sequence - Development status Proposed Solution - Development status - FPGA-based board Micro-webserver

17. Introduction Traditional Weblab infrastructures - Architecture - Status and problems Conclusions Proposed solution - Architecture - Previous work - IEEE1451.0 Std. overview - Operational sequence - Development status Proposed Solution - Development status - Example of low-level commands used to control the TIM module

18. Introduction Traditional Weblab infrastructures - Architecture - Status and problems Conclusions Proposed solution - Architecture - Previous work - IEEE1451.0 Std. overview - Operational sequence - Development status Conclusions • Currently, weblabs are well accepted in S&E courses; • But… there are specific and distinct technical implementations (no standard !); • The IEEE1451.0 Std. + FPGA technology are possible solutions for creating reconfigurable weblab infrastructures. • Supporting facts: • The IEEE1451.0 Std. describes hardware and software layers to control and network-interface transducers (which can also be the I&M used in weblabs); • FPGAs can be reconfigured with different embedded IEEE1451.0-compatible instruments described in standard HDL (e.g. Verilog or VHDL). • Main advantages: i) sharing of resources and ii) joint developments. • (increases collaboration, flexibility, reusability/interoperability, reduces costs, simplifies developments, may facilitates access managements, etc.)

19. Thanks for your attention ! Ricardo Jorge Guedes da Silva Nunes da CostaEmail: rjc@isep.ipp.ptWebpage: http://www.dee.isep.ipp.pt/~rjc Acknowledgments: