Electronics and Embedded Interface Lab

This laboratory is used primarily by first, second and third year students. It has a full range of instruments expected plus storage space for equipment, and computers offering CAD software, FPGA and PROM programmers and other software, which includes PSIM, PSSE, ETAP, PSACD/EMTDC, EMTP, DigSilent, Altera etc. This laboratory is also used for digital electronics and embedded systems computing. It has a set of 16 PCs that can be coupled to a wide range of peripherals including simple microprocessor systems and some specialised boards designed and built within the Department, for example CLIC3 board which is used in Microcomputers unit to model a lift. The CLIC3 board is the third generation for Microcomputers laboratory systems. The previous microcontrollers used were the 68HC11 and the 68S12. The CLIC3 board uses the MSP430 processor which has a newer processor structure and with an instruction set better aligned with high level coding in C.

This laboratory particular emphasis is on real-time control. This laboratory is used for many units teaching in all the three programs, namely power, electronics and computing. One of the major equipment that will be used in this lab is as below:

1. Micro-Box from TeraSoft

Micro-Box hardware works seamlessly with MATLAB, Simulink, and Simulink Real-Time to model physical systems and execute them in realtime under harsh environments. Micro-Box supports SCI and TCP/IP along with various PC/104-based IO solutions for A/D and D/A, Digital IO, and counters (PWM). Micro-Box can be used for linear control, motor control, or any classical or advanced control theory such as PID, LQR, neural networks, or fuzzy systems. Micro-Box also offers system integration solutions based on MathWorks Simulink Real-Time software, including real-time modeling, and simulation of control systems, rapid prototyping, and hardware-in-the-loop testing.