Modular Boards Research Articles

Learning Circuits and Coding with Arduino Board in Higher Education Using Tangible and Graphical User Interfaces

The integration of the Arduino board into educational settings has penetrated across various educational levels. The teaching of this subject can be accomplished by (a) using real components in breadboards, (b) prefabricated modular boards that snap together, and (c) utilizing computer simulations. Yet, it is unknown which interface offers a more effective learning experience. Therefore, this experimental study aims to compare the effectiveness of these interfaces in a series of three laboratory exercises involving 110 university students, who were divided into three groups: (a) the first group used a tangible user interface, implementing circuits on breadboards, (b) the second group also used a tangible interface but with modular boards, and (c) the third group used a graphical user interface to simulate circuits using Tinkercad. For each laboratory exercise, students completed both pretests and posttests. Also, they provided feedback through five Likert-type attitude questions regarding their experiences. In terms of data analysis, t-tests, ANOVA, and ANCOVA, along with bootstrapping, and principal component analysis were employed. The results suggest that among the participants, those who used a graphical user interface stated that their understanding of the interconnection of components in microcontroller circuits was enhanced, while students with previous experience in microcontroller labs found the circuit creation process easier than students without experience.

Exploring Students’ Hands-On Performance, Attitudes, and Usability with Arduino Modular Boards

Utilizing Arduino development boards for learning microcontroller circuits is a prevalent practice across various educational levels. Nevertheless, the literature offers limited insights into the impact of these boards on student performance and attitudes. Therefore, this paper aims to investigate the performance of 58 university students in learning microcontroller circuits with modular boards designed for Arduino through a series of 4 exercises. Specifically, students’ performance is assessed through pre-tests and post-tests, in three learning units: (a) microcontroller, (b) coding, and (c) circuit. Additionally, the study captures students’ attitudes and measures their perceived usability of modular boards. For this purpose, the students completed a specially designed attitude questionnaire and the system usability scale (SUS) questionnaire. Statistical analysis is conducted using t-tests, ANOVA, and ANCOVA, along with bootstrapping. The findings reveal statistically significant differences between pre-tests and post-tests in all cases. Among the three learning units, the use of modular boards appears to have the most significant impact on coding. Based on students’ responses, the SUS results indicate that modular boards appear to be a quite usable approach for teaching microcontrollers. Finally, students generally express positive attitudes toward modular boards.

A novel cooling geometry for subsea variable speed drives

Experimental and theoretical analyses are conducted to evaluate the passive cooling performance of a novel geometry for subsea variable speed drives, a common piece of equipment in deep-sea oil exploration. Relying on the sea water as a low-temperature thermal reservoir, the new design forms an enclosed, annular space with centrally located modular boards that compose the power electronics inverter. Buoyancy-induced motion of a dielectric coolant conveys the heat dissipated by the electronic boards to the sea water through the outer and innermost walls of the annular enclosure. A thermal network model is implemented and used to optimize the enclosure geometry through a genetic algorithm, which served as a reference for a scaled experimental setup. A Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) simulation of the conjugate heat transfer yielded temperature distributions on the electronic boards and temperature and fluid velocity fields inside the enclosure. A comparison between the experimental data and the modeling results indicated a good agreement, with average RMS deviations of a modified Nusselt number of 7.0% and 8.5% for the thermal network and CFD analysis, respectively. For a 140-W operating point dissipation rate in the scaled test setup, the thermal network and the CFD models presented maximal deviations of 4°C and 2.3°C with respect to the heat sink temperature measurements.

IMPROVING THE EFFICIENCY OF WEIGHER USING PLC CONTROLLER

Static and dynamic weighing systems are now the most prominent measurement and control instruments of raw materials flow rate. Considering the development of technology in industries, fabrication of special progressive systems of weighing in which the used state of art modern control methods of mechatronics has changed the process of classical control principles based on fieldbus technology development and use of the various types of data exchange protocols have led to the creation of flexible ways of interconnections between DCS system and main controllers with related modular boards. In industrial sectors, the raw material that is entering to the system must be in an equal ratio for the production and it should be weighed properly for further use. In this project the main focus is on the raw material handling system that is to know the amount of raw material entering to the system by using load cell and controllers. Weigh feeders are used to weigh and to handle the raw material. It weighs accurately the raw material for maintain proper blend for sinter. This blend is called as basemix material. Programmable Logical Controller controls the weigh feeders by using speed sensors, load cell, VFD and by using the control input. By designing the certain parameters whole system is controlled by using Programmable Logic Controllers. In this paper PLC is used to control overall system because it is capable of controlling weigh feeder system. Main focus is given to weigher to weigh accurate amount of material entering to the system.

Very Large Scale Integrated (VLSI) Photonics: Issues, Challenges and Visions

This presentation discourses on a newly emerging frontier technology called VLSI (very large scale integrated) photonics. It is a new field of optical circuit or optical network technology rapidly evolving in micro/nano-scale yet to complete the unfinished information revolution brought forth by the megascale optical fiber-based global network. It discusses the science and engineering of micro/nano-photonics and integration that can lead to VLSI photonic circuits and networks of generic and application-specific nature. The world in the 21st century is facing many new kinds of problems, including increasing demand for big data, higher information capacity, increasing population, increasing cost of energy, shortage of food and natural resources, environmental problems, global warming, increasing medical and health problems, and increasing demand for well living. Electron-based technology in the 20th century is beginning to show many limitations in the face of these and other rising problems. Photon-based technology, on the other hand, is showing many new promises that can lead to solutions to many of thes problems that electrons alone cannot. Compact, high-speed, light-weight, and low-powered optical and photonic micro/nano-systems using nano-wires, micro/nano-structures, plasmonics, and metamaterials, show possibilities of new properties and functions that can provide new solutions for the rising problems, that can address green and sustainable IT/BT/NT applications in the 21st century. The new optical systems consist of arrays of micro/nano-scale optical wires, circuits and devices on chips or on modular boards to perform the functions of sensing, switching, modulating, processing, transporting, routing, and distributing optical signals. The optical components include micro/nano-scale light sources, waveguides, detectors, switches, modulators, sensors, couplers, filters, resonators, photonic crystal devices, plasmonic devices, and quantum structures, made of polymer, silicon and other semiconductor micro/nano-materials. We discuss scientific and technological issues and challenges for the miniaturization and integration of micro/nano-scale photonic materials, devices, circuits, and networks for ultra-small and high-density integration and application. It includes new physics, theories, materials, designs, and structures. New perspectives and visions will be discussed along with the historical perspectives of the electrical technology. Recent progresses and examples will be presented.

Integrated Microreactor System for Gas-Phase Catalytic Reactions. 1. Scale-up Microreactor Design and Fabrication

The design and fabrication of a gas-phase microreactor that is based upon a multilayer laminate microelectronics structure is described. The reactor is a key component in an integrated system whose platform utilizes a commercial computer chassis with modular boards to perform the required process functions. The design combines knowledge from earlier laminate microstructures with new prototyping concepts for incorporation of various on-board devices. A 3-D finite element simulation model was used to identify various design improvements. The final device contains two parallel reaction channels on a chiplike die in which a 1 μm platinum film catalyst is deposited on the underside of a silicon nitride membrane. Seven platinum heaters and temperature sensors are evenly distributed along the top side of the silicon nitride membrane. Electrical contacts for the on-board control and sensing devices are achieved through various pins that are distributed around the reactor die. The experience and knowledge gained i...

Fabrication and integration of VLSI micro/nano-photonic circuit board

We report on the design, fabrication and integration of a modular system that we newly propose as “optical printed circuit board (O-PCB).” The O-PCB is designed to provide micro/nano-scale optical waveguides to perform the functions of transporting, switching, routing and distributing optical signals on flat modular boards or substrates that can lead to a platform for VLSI micro/nano-photonic integration. We fabricated and assembled O-PCBs using polymer-based optical waveguides, which we fabricated by thermal or ultra-violet (UV) imprinting using silicon masters. For nano-scale VLSI photonic integrated circuit applications, we used photonic crystal devices and plasmonic devices. We present the use of near-field scanning optical microscopy (NSOM) for optical characterization of micro/nano-scale photonic devices and also examine the effect of the waveguide surface roughness on the transmission characteristics of the waveguides. We present the results of calculation and simulation study that we pursue in search of scaling rules for the miniaturization and integration of waveguide devices, which we use as a guide for our design of VLSI waveguide circuits.

The DO central track trigger

An overview of the system architecture and algorithms used for the DO Central Track Trigger (CTT) in the Run 2 of the Fermilab Tevatron Proton-Antiproton Collider is presented. This system uses information from the newly commissioned Central Fiber Tracker and Preshower Detectors to generate Level 1 trigger decisions. It also generates lists of seed tracks and preshower clusters that are sent to the Level 1 Muon Trigger, L2 Silicon Track Trigger, and Central and Forward Preshower Level 2 preprocessors. The system consists of modular boards which utilize field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) to implement trigger algorithms. The system delivers trigger decisions every 132 ns, based on input data flowing at a maximum sustained rate of 475 gigabits per second. The first results of trigger efficiency studies are presented.

Modular CNC Design for Intelligent Machining, Part 1: Design of a Hierarchical Motion Control Module for CNC Machine Tools

An hierarchical motion-control design strategy is presented to integrate various intelligent machining modules to CNC systems. There are two independent buses in the CNC system. Modular and independent processor boards reside in the primary bus which is global for manufacturing process monitoring, control and machine tool position commands. A digital signal processing board provides a secondary CNC bus, which has one imbedded microprocessor for the position control of each axis. The system is open to integration of new hardware and software modules. Any process control and monitoring task in the system can manipulate the feed, acceleration, control law parameters and position commands in real time. New process control, monitoring and position control algorithms can be integrated to the system by using globally available CNC parameters. The process control and monitoring functions are executed in the real-time multi-tasking environment within 1 ms time intervals without disturbing the position control system. The proposed design provides an open development platform for parallel testing of intelligent manufacturing algorithms on machine tools and robots.

A new architecture for a TV graphics animation module

A real time compression/decompression architecture is proposed and a new TV graphics animation player/edit system which provides graphics animation work with new techniques in multimedia is presented as a sample application. The authors also propose an architecture of modular boards with a resolution of 640*512 pixels to cover wide range of digital video applications.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>