Virtual Instrument Systems in Reality (VISIR) for Remote Wiring and Measurement of Electronic Circuits on Breadboard

TLDR

VISIR offers a virtual workbench that replicates physical breadboards, enabling remote wiring and measurement of electronic circuits. The paper introduces VISIR, a state‑of‑the‑art remote laboratory, and compares it to other remote labs to emphasize its unique capabilities. VISIR’s wiring mechanism employs a relay switching matrix linked to a PXI platform, controlled by LabVIEW server software and a measurement server that validates student circuit designs before execution, and the system includes detailed technical descriptions, software, operation cycle, features, services, and plans for integration with LMSs, ISA, LXI hardware, and an open federated platform. Student feedback from multiple universities highlights benefits, identifies drawbacks, and the authors propose solutions to address them.

Abstract

This paper reports on a state-of-the-art remote laboratory project called Virtual Instrument Systems in Reality (VISIR). VISIR allows wiring and measuring of electronic circuits remotely on a virtual workbench that replicates physical circuit breadboards. The wiring mechanism is developed by means of a relay switching matrix connected to a PCI eXtensions for Instrumentation (PXI) instrumentation platform. The entire equipment is controlled by LabVIEW server software, in addition to a measurement server software that protects the equipment from hazard connections by verifying input circuit designs, sent by students, before being executed. This paper addresses other approaches such as remote labs based on Data Acquisition Cards (DAQs), NetLab, and RemotElectLab, comparing them with VISIR in order to emphasize its singularity. Topics discussed are as follows: the technical description, software, operation cycle, features, and provided services. In addition, the feedback received by students at several universities and the encountered drawbacks along with the proposed solutions are highlighted. The paper finally addresses the ongoing and future challenges within the VISIR community including its integration with Learning Management Systems (LMSs) and iLab Shared Architecture (ISA), its new hardware version release that is based on LAN eXtensions for Instrumentation (LXI), and its new open platform version that supports federated access.