By Tracey Windley and Jasper Nance Professor Herb Hess Kevin Buck 2006 ASEE Annual Conference 6/19/2006 Instant Data Gathering, Processing, and Display for Industry Sponsor Using Interfaced Software Packages

2 Introduction Overview Microelectronics Research Communications Institute (MRCI) Background Data Acquisition Problems in the MRCI Data Formatting and Storage Data Retrieval and Presentation Data Acquisition Solutions LabVIEW Instrument Automation Data organization with a MYSQL Database Data Presentation with the MRCI Data Website Future Work & Summary

3 MRCI Background The MRCI is a multidisciplinary research center that supports research from many different departments and programs Electrical Engineering Computer Science Chemistry/Chemical Engineering Bio-Systems Engineering Computer Engineering Mechanical Engineering The MRCI develops technologies in microelectronics, power electronics, microwave ferrite research, battery development, intelligent control, computer security, communications systems, and neural networks. MRCI has received several million dollars from governmental and private sources alike over the past 9 years. NASA EPSCOR Navy BOEING Homeland Security BAE Systems Schweitzer Honeywell National Science Foundation At present, MRCI supports 43 undergraduate researchers, 44 graduate research assistants, 11 irregular help graduate researchers, 4 post-doctoral researchers, 3 R&D engineers, 4 research engineers, and 1 scientific aide. Visit http//: for more information

4 Data Acquisition Data Acquisition Has Two Main Parts: 1.Data Collection 2.Data Organization and Presentation

5 Data Collection Problems at MRCI The MRCI Collects a lot of Data High Researcher Turnover rate can make testing difficult 640 transistors tested for Boeing last summer Measurement Error Novice researchers can make mistakes during measurement. (and Experienced ones too!) Long periods of data collection may cause researchers to become inattentive Time Costly Data collection can be costly and labor intensive. Solution Automation!

6 Problems With Data Organization and Data Presentation Poor data formatting could result in data loss or corruption Solution Data must be recorded and stored uniformly Data must include information about the conditions of the test and about the Researcher Data must be easily searchable Data must be easily presentable to project sponsor and supervisors ???

7 Data Gathering System We Built a System… That is easy to use and understand Necessary for new researchers and sponsors alike That is fully automated Huge time and money saver Major Productivity win That enforces uniform data formatting Helps solve problem with researcher turnover rate Improves data organization That Stores data in an environment that is easily accessible and allows for easy Data presentation Provides fast turn around time from data collection to data presentation

8 Data Gathering System Diagram LabVIEW Controls Data Acquisition and Data insertion into the Database Website allows user access to the database through the Internet LabVIEW MYSQL Drivers Website

9 LabVIEW Requires little syntax or previous coding experience! Graphical Coding Language Developed by National Instruments Uses boxes and wires to represent functions in a flowchart like form Allows user program control using buttons and Textboxes on the front panel Comes with Toolboxes for MYSQL Database communication, Signal Processing, and GPIB Instrument Communication Protocol Why LabVIEW? Its EASY!

10 Web Interface Price All open source software….FREE! Constructed and maintained by Undergraduate Students Security Users have controlled access permissions to keep sensitive material contained Necessary for International Traffic in Arms (ITAR) and Non- Disclosure Agreements (NDA) agreements Speed Data is uploaded automatically after acquisition allowing for near instant data presentation to sponsor Accessibility Users only require an Internet connection to view Data Interface is understandable and easy to use Our Website Has…

11 Web Interface MYSQL MYSQL is an open source database software with built in optimized search and table joining capabilities PHP PHP Code allows for page creation on-the-fly that can respond to user input and database interaction. Built in MYSQL Support They are Open Source

12 Web Interface Users can create graphs from hundreds of separate traces Website allows for fast Data access and Presentation Easy interface for Data searching and Retrieval

13 Web Interface CSV text files can be imported Old data or custom data can be entered Import Data function allows for alternate data insertion

14 Summary and Future Work Summary Solutions to common data acquisition problems MRCI Data Acquisition System is a huge time and money saver and productivity win Website Interface was constructed by undergraduates using free open source software Website has the ability to provide near instant access to the data via the Internet Future Work Constant improvements to the Website interface

15 Questions Questions?