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Remote Experimentation for Communication: From Remote Desktops to Gateways

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Conference

2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

San Antonio, Texas

Publication Date

June 10, 2012

Start Date

June 10, 2012

End Date

June 13, 2012

ISSN

2153-5965

Conference Session

Online Learning

Tagged Division

Computers in Education

Page Count

14

Page Numbers

25.1116.1 - 25.1116.14

DOI

10.18260/1-2--21873

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/21873

Download Count

438

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Paper Authors

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Grant Huang University of Texas, San Antonio

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Grant Huang received his M.Sc. degree from the University of Texas, San Antonio (UTSA) in 2009 and is currently a Ph.D. student in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) at UTSA. His research interests include satellite/wireless channel modeling, Assisted-GPS/GNSS (A-GPS/GNSS), and remote experimentation systems.

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Andreas Gampe University of Texas, San Antonio

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Andreas Gampe is a Ph.D. student at the University of Texas at San Antonio. He received a diploma degree in Computer Science from the
Friedrich-Schiller University, Jena, Germany, in 2006. His current research interests include language-based security for computer systems,
embedded languages in software engineering, and online education.

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Arsen Melkonyan University of Texas, San Antonio

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Arsen Melkonyan is a Ph.D. student at the University of Texas, San Antonio. From 2005 to 2007, he was a member of the research staff of Tampere University of Technology, Finland. He received a B.Sc. degree in electrical engineering from the State Technical University of Armenia, Yerevan, Armenia, in 2003 and a M.Sc. degree in electrical engineering from the University of Texas at San Antonio in 2008. His current research interests include impact localization algorithms for structural health monitoring, WLAN Indoor positioning technologies, and remote hardware based educational system design.

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Murillo Pontual University of Texas, San Antonio

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Murillo Pontual is a Senior Member of the technical staff at Oracle. He received his Ph.D. in computer science from the University of Texas, San Antonio in 2011, and he received his M.Sc. and B.Sc. degrees in computer science from the Federal University of Pernambuco, Brazil, respectively in 2005 and 2003. His current research interests include formal methods, online education technologies, and computer security with special emphasis in access control, security policies, and obligations.

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David Akopian University of Texas, San Antonio

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David Akopian is an Associate Professor at the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA). He joined UTSA in 2003 where he founded Software Communication and Navigation Systems Laboratory. He received the M.Sc. degree in radio-electronics from the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology in 1987 and Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from the Tampere University of Technology (TUT), Finland, EU, in 1997. From 1999 to 2003, he was a Senior Engineer and Specialist with Nokia Corporation. Prior to joining Nokia in 1999, he was a member of teaching and research staff of TUT. His current research interests include digital signal processing algorithms for communication and navigation receivers, positioning methods and mobile applications, and remote labs

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Abstract

Remote Educational Gateway for Radio-Communication Nowadays, experimenting with hardware in engineering laboratories provides students anopportunity to gain a valuable hands-on experience operating state-of-the-art devices.Hands-on experiments help students to efficiently digest theoretical concepts. It trains them torely on the facts according to physical evidence. Nevertheless, hands-on laboratories are oftennot affordable due to shortage of costly equipment and human resources for laboratorymaintenance and assistance. Simulators exploiting mathematical models can serve as analternative approach to assist students in theoretical principles; however, the vivid elementssuch as teamwork experience, real signal generation and observation, and operating withstate-of the-art electronic devises are eliminated from learning process. With continued development of information technology and mature communicationchannels through Internet remote labs may potentially overcome many constrains faced inhands-on laboratories (e.g., minimizing expenses, providing flexible lab schedule, and sharinglimited resources among multiple students). Even though only PC-controlled experiments canbe used in remote settings limiting experimentation options, however, the growing number ofcomplex hardware-based experiments with computer controlled features creates a niche forpotential use of remote experiments in various educational fields. This paper presents a comparison study among three different remote lab implementationoptions. The testbed is eComlab, a radio-communication remote laboratory system developedby authors. It has been offered in several courses at the department of Electrical and ComputerEngineering (ECE), University of Texas at San Antonio. The implementation options arediscussed as various evolutional stages of the eComLab, which changed from a simplesingle-user remote desktop application to a multi-user system architecture that operates as agateway connecting four remote sides: (1) PC-controlled experiment, (2) users such as students,(3) instructors and (4) system administrators. In its latest version, users may utilize regularweb-browser to access remote experiments, the gateway provides various popular modernnetworking media (e.g., discussion boards, chat rooms, and video streaming), it enables groupwork, automatic setting etc. The paper provides intervention data in classroom through the analysis of surveys collectedamong students. It also discusses challenges faced by users during remote experimentation.

Huang, G., & Gampe, A., & Melkonyan, A., & Pontual, M., & Akopian, D. (2012, June), Remote Experimentation for Communication: From Remote Desktops to Gateways Paper presented at 2012 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, San Antonio, Texas. 10.18260/1-2--21873

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