Remote Labolatory with Modular Inertial Measuring Unit Platform

ICERI2016 Proceedings, 2016

This paper describes an open source hardware and software platform devised specifically to allow high school and undergraduate instructors to prepare new laboratory demonstrations and projects for kinematics and dynamics in an easy, affordable and extensible way. The platform consists of a computing portable station with static sensors and a microcontroller based mobile device small sensors embedded. The whole platform rely heavily on wireless technologies so the students could operate the platform with their own tablets or smartphones. To meet the open source requirements, all the components comply with open source restrictions and also the design documents and the source code are made publicly available to the education community. Therefore, there is not only an economical sensing alternative to current configurations of laboratories but an extensible system in which new requirements and sensors could be added covering new areas such as electronics, magnetism and thermodynamics. A user friendly web client permits the students to configure and perform measurements using an Internet connected smartphone or any portable computing device in a way that makes possible to the instructor to broaden the type and intensity of experiments.

2007

This paper describes a series of laboratory experiments in Internet-based robotics and mechatronics, as well as the design, development, and evaluation of an Internetbased laboratory facility to be used to deliver an undergraduate laboratory course for engineering and engineering technology education. Internet-based robotics and mechatronics can be utilized in a wide range of curricula in both engineering and engineering technology programs. Educators are faced with the challenge of providing students with an adequate laboratory experience that will better prepare students for a corporate world where the need for engineers in the quality, service, and information technology industries is increasing. The uniqueness of the newly developed facility is its modularity in design and the use of commercially available hardware and software technologies. The laboratory consists of Yamaha Robots and machine vision systems, Allen Bradley PLC modules, Webcams and sensors, a data acquisition system, mechanical systems, and software applications for monitoring and control. Using this system, one can quickly use an experimental setup for an application problem, view and program the robots, and control robotic and mechanical motions remotely through the World Wide Web. The use of modern sensors and data acquisition instrumentation for monitoring and control of such an application is also beneficial as laboratory practices for undergraduate classes on Web-based gauging, measurement, inspection, diagnostic system, and quality control.

Journal of Intelligent & Robotic Systems, 2013

This paper presents a methodology for a reliable comparison among Inertial Measurement Units or attitude estimation devices in a Vicon environment. The misalignment among the reference systems and the lack of synchronization among the devices are the main problems for the correct performance evaluation using Vicon as reference measurement system. We propose a genetic algorithm coupled with Dynamic Time Warping (DTW) to solve these issues. To validate the efficacy of the methodology, a performance comparison is implemented between the WB-

International Journal of …, 2006

Abstract— Physical experiments are indispensable for developing skills to deal with physical processes and instrumentation. The Internet provides new possibilities for universities and other teaching organizations to share laboratories and increase the number of lab sessions ...

2000

Inertial measurement components, which sense either acceleration or angular rate, are beingembedded into common user interface devices more frequently as their cost continues todrop dramatically. These devices hold a number of advantages over other sensing technologies:they measure relevant parameters for human interfaces and can easily be embeddedinto wireless, mobile platforms. The work in this dissertation demonstrates that inertialmeasurement can be

2012

Advancements in cyber communications are making an impact on the delivery of education by opening up new modes of interaction. Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS) based technologies provide a compelling way to extend the benefits of interactive experimentation to students being taught through distance education. In this work, a remotely accessible MEMS laboratory, physically located at Texas Tech University, was developed and tested. The laboratory is comprised of a MEMS chip containing an array of micro-actuators, a digital microscope, a motorized stage, and software that permits remote control and viewing. To conduct a lab, a student logs into the server, selects a device to operate and experiment with, and follows procedures contained in a lab manual. The video feed from the digital microscope is embedded into a live streaming server allowing the student to quantify the motion of the dynamic MEMS devices. The system has been utilized as an instrumental part in the MEMS 1 curriculum at

2012

Many dynamic simulators have been developed in the last thirty years for different types of vehicles. Flight simulators and drive simulators are very well known examples. This paper describes the design and implementation of a dynamic simulator for the testing of inertial sensors devoted to vehicle navigation through a Hardware-In-The-Loop test rig composed of an industrial robot and a commercially available Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU). The authors are developing an innovative localization algorithm for railway vehicles which integrates inertial sensors with tachometers. The opportunity to set up a testing simulator capable of replicating in a realistic fashion the dynamic effects of the vehicle motion on inertial sensors allows to avoid expensive on board acquisitions and to speed up algorithm tuning. The real-time control architecture featured by the available industrial robot allows to precisely specify and execute motion trajectories with tight path and time law constraints required by the application at hand.

IFAC Proceedings Volumes, 1995

This is a paper that describes an essay procedure for inertial angular accelerometer so as to check its dynamic characteristics. This instrument delivers acceleration values with 12 bits of resolution. In order to test it a device providing greater resolution and stability is needed, so as to detect possible deviations.

2013

During the last few years microminiaturized inertial sensors were introduced in many applications. Their small size, low power consumption, rugged construction open doors to many areas of implementation. The main drawback of these sensors is the influence of different type of errors, leading to an unavoidable wrong position and orientation estimation. In the paper a simulator of Inertial Measurement Unit is proposed. The simulator is a tool for assistance of trajectory set up and on the base of input data it generates IMU output according given error/noise parameters. It allows us to simulate different types of IMUs based on prior knowledge of the IMU error’s properties. One of the main goals in developing of the simulator is to validate new methods involving inertial technology. Something more, the simulator is an excellent tool for tuning complex filtering procedures and enhancing navigation accuracy. The simulation of different scenarios gives more information to receive better u...

IEEE Transactions on Education, 2004

In this paper, a novel environment is described that provides 24-h-a-day access to a Web-based lab for the remote control of different didactic setups. The control of an inverted pendulum is used to demonstrate the use of such an environment. The main attributes of this Web-based lab are: 1) the on-line interactivity with the didactic setup, 2) the possibility of defining different experiments by using parameter files, and 3) the open architecture of the environment which allows easy development of new experiments with other didactic setups. The structure of this Web-based lab not only provides students with quantitative information feedback but also allows visual supervision. Now, a remote-controlled camera plays an important role within a remote experimentation environment with mobile parts. Students can handle the camera on-line, just as they can control the didactic setup over the Internet.