Laboratory Instrument Automation System
Class
Article
Department
Electrical and Computer Engineering
Faculty Mentor
Regan Zane
Presentation Type
Poster Presentation
Abstract
The collection of experimental results in power electronics research requires the coordination of a wide variety of laboratory instrument. Depending on the type of results required, each data point can take a few minutes to collect. This process becomes time consuming when a large number of data points is needed and detracts from long-term research objectives. While there are industry standards that specify communication with these devices, many equipment vendors elect not to follow the standards and use their own protocols for communication. This project provides a framework for developing a smart and connected lab. This includes hardware and software for interacting with all lab instruments, regardless of the vendor. The framework is expandable to accommodate future instruments while still being simple enough to learn quickly. With minimal training, students can create graphical user interfaces and automation scripts that will greatly simplify interacting with research projects.
Start Date
4-9-2015 12:00 PM
Laboratory Instrument Automation System
The collection of experimental results in power electronics research requires the coordination of a wide variety of laboratory instrument. Depending on the type of results required, each data point can take a few minutes to collect. This process becomes time consuming when a large number of data points is needed and detracts from long-term research objectives. While there are industry standards that specify communication with these devices, many equipment vendors elect not to follow the standards and use their own protocols for communication. This project provides a framework for developing a smart and connected lab. This includes hardware and software for interacting with all lab instruments, regardless of the vendor. The framework is expandable to accommodate future instruments while still being simple enough to learn quickly. With minimal training, students can create graphical user interfaces and automation scripts that will greatly simplify interacting with research projects.