Mobile Studio
Encyclopedia
National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation is a United States government agency that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health...
supported Mobile Studio Project, or Mobile Studio, is developing pedagogy and hardware/software which, when connected to a PC (via USB), provides functionality similar to that of laboratory equipment (scope, function generator, power supplies, DMM, etc.) typically associated with an instrumented studio classroom. The Mobile Studio IOBoard is a small, inexpensive hardware platform for use in a home, classroom or remote environment. When coupled with the Mobile Studio Desktop software, the system duplicates a large amount of the hardware often used to teach Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering, Control Systems, and Physics courses; among others. With the support of several technology companies (ADI, HP, and Maxim) and the National Science Foundation
National Science Foundation
The National Science Foundation is a United States government agency that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health...
, the Mobile Studio Project is now being utilized to enhance science, math, engineering and technology education around the world. The project's goal is to enable hands-on exploration of science and engineering principles, devices, and systems that have historically been restricted to expensive laboratory facilities.
Beginnings
In 1999, Rensselaer Polytechnic InstituteRensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Stephen Van Rensselaer established the Rensselaer School on November 5, 1824 with a letter to the Rev. Dr. Samuel Blatchford, in which van Rensselaer asked Blatchford to serve as the first president. Within the letter he set down several orders of business. He appointed Amos Eaton as the school's...
professor Don Millard
Don Millard
Dr. Don Millard is a Program Director at the National Science Foundation . Prior to joining NSF, he was a faculty member at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and the originator of the Mobile Studio Project...
http://www.academy.rpi.edu/~millard started thinking about a way to enable students to perform experiments whenever and wherever they desire — experiments that use an oscilloscope, function generator, digital control and some form of power supply. The project started by looking at commercially available solutions; which were found to be prohibitively expensive since the desire was to keep the cost of the solution similar to the price of an engineering textbook.
Motivation
The Academy of Electronic Media Mobile Studio Project's inspiration was drawn from a generation of engineering students that has virtually no tinkering background. Instead of taking apart devices and building things with erector sets, students now manipulate computer software. Additionally, the level of integration is so sophisticated in today’s electronics that even if students did crack them open, it’s not clear how much they would garner from it. Simple circuit boards that stimulated the imagination with their discrete components and space for soldering and tinkering - have since given way to multilayered boards with complex ICs and circuitry too small to see.Hardware
The hardware component of the system is a small printed circuit board, referred to as the IOBoard, which was developed by Jason Coutermarsh (as a part of his Rensselaer degree programs) and Dr. Don Lewis Millard. The IOBoard is populated with the components required to implement an oscilloscopeOscilloscope
An oscilloscope is a type of electronic test instrument that allows observation of constantly varying signal voltages, usually as a two-dimensional graph of one or more electrical potential differences using the vertical or 'Y' axis, plotted as a function of time,...
, function generator, spectrum analyzer, voltmeter, and digital input/output control. The hardware connects to a PC via USB, and is powered by the user's PC, eliminating the need for a bulky AC transformer.
Software
The Mobile Studio Desktop software, designed by Jason Coutermarsh, provides the user with "benchtop equivalent" displays that mimic their physical counterparts. In addition to providing standard instrumentation options, the software takes advantage of the processing power of the personal computer, giving the user access to features typically found on high-end equipment, along with the ability to easily save data and screen images.Expandability
The Mobile Studio IOBoard is easily expandable using an on-board daughterboard connector. Nearly all the IOBoard resources can be accessed by a daughterboard, allowing a user to enhance current features or add completely new options. The Mobile Studio Desktop application software is also easily expandable by way of a "Plug-in" system. The software automatically finds and loads both new hardware drivers and new features that can be installed at any time after the main application. This ensures that both the hardware and software are never out of date.Academic
- Rensselaer Polytechnic InstituteRensselaer Polytechnic InstituteStephen Van Rensselaer established the Rensselaer School on November 5, 1824 with a letter to the Rev. Dr. Samuel Blatchford, in which van Rensselaer asked Blatchford to serve as the first president. Within the letter he set down several orders of business. He appointed Amos Eaton as the school's...
- Howard UniversityHoward UniversityHoward University is a federally chartered, non-profit, private, coeducational, nonsectarian, historically black university located in Washington, D.C., United States...
- Morgan State UniversityMorgan State UniversityMorgan State University, formerly Centenary Biblical Institute , Morgan College and Morgan State College , is a historically black college in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Morgan is Maryland's designated public urban university and the largest HBCU in the state of Maryland...
- Rose-Hulman Institute of TechnologyRose-Hulman Institute of TechnologyRose–Hulman Institute of Technology , formerly Rose Polytechnic Institute, is a small private college specializing in teaching engineering, mathematics, and science. RHIT is highly regarded for its undergraduate engineering program, which US News and World Reports ranked in 2011 as No...
- University at Albany, SUNYUniversity at Albany, SUNYThe State University of New York at Albany, also known as University at Albany, State University of New York, SUNY Albany or simply UAlbany, is a public university located in Albany, Guilderland, and East Greenbush, New York, United States; is the senior campus of the State University of New York ...
Industry
- Analog DevicesAnalog DevicesAnalog Devices, Inc. , known as ADI, is an American multinational semiconductor company specializing in data conversion and signal conditioning technology, headquartered in Norwood, Massachusetts...
- Hewlett-PackardHewlett-PackardHewlett-Packard Company or HP is an American multinational information technology corporation headquartered in Palo Alto, California, USA that provides products, technologies, softwares, solutions and services to consumers, small- and medium-sized businesses and large enterprises, including...
- Maxim Integrated Products
- Molex Connector Corporation
- National Science FoundationNational Science FoundationThe National Science Foundation is a United States government agency that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National Institutes of Health...
- PCBExpress