Virtual Laboratory for Electrical Circuit Course

A virtual laboratory for an introductory laboratory course in circuit analysis in Electrical Engineering Technology program is developed that can replace the traditional laboratory setup by an approach based on data acquisition (DAQ) instrumentation. The project utilizes LabVIEW software and DAQ board (Model PCI-6024E) both from National Instruments. The PCI-6024E is a multifunction I/O device having 8 digital I/O lines, 12 bit 16 single ended analog input lines, and two 12 bit analog output lines. The undergraduate laboratories have been poorly equipped due to the rising cost of laboratory instruments. This trend has created a strong market for laboratory instruments based on personal computers. LabVIEW provides a low-cost solution for laboratory instrumentation compared to its traditional counterpart since appropriate software, operating through a plug-in DAQ board, is readily available at a very low-cost. The LabVIEW can model standard laboratory instruments while offering more flexibility as it is software based. The combination of LabVIEW and available plug-in hardware enables the virtual instrument to be modified whenever needs change. This instrumentation system can be produced at a fraction of the cost of traditional instruments. Due to LabVIEW’s graphical nature data can be easily presented in any forms such as charts, graphs, etc. The final product of this project will be used to teach the laboratory course in-class as well as via Internet so that students can take the course on the web which is the trend of education now.