Implementing a remote laboratory on a chip

Abstract

In light of the recent advances in the Internet of Things and embedded networking technologies, online Internet access for computing devices has been extended from classic computers and servers to virtually all embedded devices with minimal networking capabilities. In this context, our efforts targeted applying this approach to the field of remote learning, by transcending the infrastructure needed for a remote laboratory from mainframe servers and computers to embedded devices: FPGA/System-on-Chip (SoC). This paper describes the internal architecture of a FPGA-based SoC with its components: networking interface (including a Web Server), data acquisition interface (through the on-board Analog-to-Digital converter) and configuration and control software. Also, the article presents the implementation of the Web interface available online that provides an easily accessible, real-time interactive interface for the data visualization and control of the remote FPGA-based SoC, which enables remote access for students and faculty to perform remote experiments and data analysis.