3-Remote Access To Wireless Communications Systems .

US-China Education Review A 10 (2012) 868-874Earlier title: US-China Education Review, ISSN 1548-6613DDAVIDPUBLISHINGRemote Access to Wireless Communications SystemsLaboratory New Technology Approach Nadezhda Kafadarova, Sotir Sotirov, Mihail MilevPlovdiv University “Paisii Hilendarski”, Plovdiv, Bulgaria Technology nowadays enables the remote access to laboratory equipment and instruments via Internet. This isespecially useful in engineering education, where students can conduct laboratory experiment remotely. Suchremote laboratory access can enable student to use expensive laboratory equipment, which is not usually availableto students. In this paper, we present a method of creating a Web-based Remote Laboratory Experimentation in themaster degree course “Wireless Communications Systems” which is part of “ICS (Information and CommunicationSystems)” and “Investment Management in Telecommunications” curriculums. This is done within the RIPLECSProject (Retrieved from http://riplecs.dipseil.net/) and the NI2011 FF005 Research Project “Implementation ofProject-Based Learning in an Interdisciplinary Master Program”.Keywords: remote access, remote laboratory, wireless telecommunications, EASCB (external antenna-switchingcontroller board)IntroductionWeb-based course management and delivery software are becoming common in many areas of education,but the facilities provided by such systems do not support practical laboratory work (Dervis, Atilla, & Gökhan,2003).The accelerated pace at which both the computing and telecommunications worlds are advancing alongwith their ever increasing availability is creating a new relationship between the teaching process and the waystudents are learning, thus revolutionizing the way this process is carried out altogether. Experimental work is avital component of science and engineering teaching at all levels.Remote LaboratoryThe increasing use of multimedia packages or “virtual science” has much to offer in terms of teachingscientific facts and principles, but does not generally focus on the process of scientific enquiry or engineeringpractice. However, the real and practical experience cannot be excluded from this process since it would have anegative impact on the learning process. Likewise, collaborative work and at-a-distance projects are beginning Acknowledgements: This paper is supported by RIPLECS Project No. 517836-LLP-1-2011-1-ES-ERASMUS-ESMO, andNI2011 FF005-Project.Nadezhda Kafadarova, Ph.D., Department of ECIT (Electronics, Communication and Information Technologies), PlovdivUniversity “Paisii Hilendarski”.Sotir Sotirov, M.Sc., Department of ECIT (Electronics, Communication and Information Technologies), Plovdiv University“Paisii Hilendarski”.Mihail Milev, B.Sc., Department of ECIT (Electronics, Communication and Information Technologies), Plovdiv University“Paisii Hilendarski”.

REMOTE ACCESS TO WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS LABORATORY869to pay more attention to the engineering world. With the integration of telecommunication technologies andcomputer science with virtual instrumentation, real, remote laboratories can be developed and accessed throughInternet in real time, ensuring a richer collaborative experience for the student while avoiding some of thegrowing limitations of traditional laboratories, such as the lack of enough work area, expensive instrumentation,lack of personnel, time assigned to a laboratory, and their availability in non-working office hours (Zorica, Jan,& Andrew, 2003).Wireless CommunicationsWireless communications is, by any measure, the fastest growing segment of the communication industry.Cellular systems have experienced exponential growth over the last decade and there are currently around twobillion users worldwide. In addition, the explosive growth of wireless systems coupled with the proliferation oflaptop computers indicates a bright future of wireless networks, both as stand-alone-systems and as part of thelarger network infrastructure.Antennas are essential components of all equipment for wireless communications. They are instrumentsfor transmitting and receiving waves. Antennas are used in systems, such as radio broadcasting,communications receivers, radar, cell phones, and satellite communications. Parameters used to test theperformance of an antenna are radiation pattern, directivity, gain, polarization, impedance, and bandwidth. Asradiation pattern and gain are considered as basic parameters of an antenna, they are most commonly studied instudent’s tutorials.Architecture of Remote Laboratory for Wireless TelecommunicationsThe overall objective of the RIPLECS Project is to develop a remote laboratory for wirelesscommunications, where students at remote sites can perform actual experiments using actual hardwareequipment and tools concurrently.The main purpose of NI2011 FF005 Project is to investigate experimentally the effect ofperformance-cantered platform for the design, composition, and reuse of open course learning materials bymeans of development of an interdisciplinary curriculum in investment management in telecommunications fora joint master degree. This project is being developed within the research project competition “Research2011/2012” of the “Research and development” division of Plovdiv University. The keywords for the projectare: DIPSEIL (Distributed Internet-based Performance Support Environment for Individualized Learning)(Retrieved from http://www.dipseil.net/), master program, education, and interdisciplinary education(Kafadarova, Stoyanova-Petrova, Mileva, & Raikova, 2011).The course “Wireless Communication Systems” gives students an overview of the characteristics ofdifferent types of antennas used in wireless communications and the wave propagation in mobilecommunication.The course “Wireless Communication Systems” is divided into two main educational parts: The first partgives students knowledge about the characteristics of different types of antennas used in wirelesscommunications. The second part is connected with the wave propagation in mobile communications. Thestudents have to fulfil practical tasks, connected with understanding the basic functions of the antennas as wellas mobile communication propagation characteristics. There are seven antennas which must be changed in thesystem automatically without participation of an operator. In this paper, the authors describe their idea of how

REMOTE ACCESS TO WIRELESS COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEMS LABORATORY870the automatic change is done. The proposed method is by means of an EASCB (external antenna-switchingcontroller board). This automated system provides rapid installation of the correct antenna for the appropriateapplication and experiment, allowing the teacher not to be in the laboratory during each experiment. Thecreation of that innovative automated system for antenna change is the main part of the WirelessCommunications Remote Lab.The practical part consists of several assignments dealing with understanding the basic functions of theantennas as well as mobile communication propagation characteristics experiments.The system configuration is shown in Figure 1.Figure 1. System configuration.The different types of antennas are changed in the system automatically without participation of anoperator. This automatic change is made by means of an EASCB (external antenna-switching controller board).This automated system provides rapid installation of the correct antenna for the appropriate application andexperiment, allowing the teacher not to be in the laboratory during each experiment. The innovative automatedsystem for antenna change is the main part of the Wireless Communications Remote Lab.Under the normal circumstance, wave characteristics are hard to measure and analyze due to the natureof wave being so much dependent on surrounding environment and fluctuating. Therefore, the educationaltraining system has a built in hardware circuit which creates a wave environment, offering a practicalexperience on wave env

Wireless Communications Wireless communications is, by any measure, the fastest growing segment of the communication industry. Cellular systems have experienced exponential growth over the last decade and there are currently around two billion users worldwide. In addition, the explosive growth of wireless systems coupled with the proliferation of