Vladimir M. Cvjetkovic

The development and implementation of a thermal process trainer for control and measurement via the Internet

In engineering education, it is very important to provide solid knowledge and practice to students in order to deal with architectures, mechanisms, and algorithms for the control of processes. In this article we will present the concept, detailed technical requirements, description, implementation, and verification of a process (thermal) trainer. In addition three possible educational tasks will be presented with a developed software infrastructure for the remote control of a laboratory set‐up via the Internet.

IMI Python: Upgraded CS Circles web-based Python course

The rapid growth of student demand for flexible education and learning alternatives has caused a significant increase in web‐based programming course offerings. In order to ensure easy and enjoyable ways of acquiring knowledge, many web‐based solutions have customized the design and content to student needs. This paper introduces a project of the Institute for Mathematics and Informatics (IMI) called IMI Python, an interactive online course. It is based on the open‐source Computer Science Circles (CS Circles) project. IMI Python aims to assist the target audience, primarily students, learn a spectrum of Python knowledge. The benefits of this enhanced system are multiple, both for students and their teachers. The course content is structured and divided by levels: basic, medium, and advanced. Flexible navigation through the different levels of difficulty and lesson units allows students to easily review any forgotten material and adopt new knowledge. Teachers have the ability to follow the progress of individual students or all students in a level, and communicate with them about their work. Teachers and students can communicate within the system to discuss individual exercises through a simple user interface. The system is enhanced with the possibility of testing students’ knowledge through quizzes. Quizzes are visible at assigned time intervals and are worth a certain number of points. By tracking students’ results, teachers can determine whether the site has enough quality material and what can contribute to its improvement.

PIBAS FedSPARQL: a web-based platform for integration and exploration of bioinformatics datasets

BackgroundThere are a huge variety of data sources relevant to chemical, biological and pharmacological research, but these data sources are highly siloed and cannot be queried together in a straightforward way. Semantic technologies offer the ability to create links and mappings across datasets and manage them as a single, linked network so that searching can be carried out across datasets, independently of the source. We have developed an application called PIBAS FedSPARQL that uses semantic technologies to allow researchers to carry out such searching across a vast array of data sources.ResultsPIBAS FedSPARQL is a web-based query builder and result set visualizer of bioinformatics data. As an advanced feature, our system can detect similar data items identified by different Uniform Resource Identifiers (URIs), using a text-mining algorithm based on the processing of named entities to be used in Vector Space Model and Cosine Similarity Measures. According to our knowledge, PIBAS FedSPARQL was unique among the systems that we found in that it allows detecting of similar data items. As a query builder, our system allows researchers to intuitively construct and run Federated SPARQL queries across multiple data sources, including global initiatives, such as Bio2RDF, Chem2Bio2RDF, EMBL-EBI, and one local initiative called CPCTAS, as well as additional user-specified data source. From the input topic, subtopic, template and keyword, a corresponding initial Federated SPARQL query is created and executed. Based on the data obtained, end users have the ability to choose the most appropriate data sources in their area of interest and exploit their Resource Description Framework (RDF) structure, which allows users to select certain properties of data to enhance query results.ConclusionsThe developed system is flexible and allows intuitive creation and execution of queries for an extensive range of bioinformatics topics. Also, the novel “similar data items detection” algorithm can be particularly useful for suggesting new data sources and cost optimization for new experiments. PIBAS FedSPARQL can be expanded with new topics, subtopics and templates on demand, rendering information retrieval more robust.

Helicopter Laboratory Model Experiment With Web Access

This paper describes the experiment for learning and investigation of the helicopter laboratory model static and dynamic characteristics. Helicopter model is not the free flying one, as it has the two degrees of freedom â?? up / down movement and rotation with respect to vertical axis of the main propeller. The two basic different kinds of experiments with the helicopter model are possible. In the first group are experiments with the model for measurement of the static and dynamic characteristics that show the basic capabilities and overall performance of the model. Second group of experiments are control experiments for movement of the system to the desired position or for performing some continuous oscillatory movement. All experiments can be performed locally from the lab with the experimental setup and remotely. Remote experiments are performed by using the web user interface for controlling the laboratory equipment and the IP camera for observing the movements of the helicopter model.

Web-based experiment for teaching the electrical characteristics of a solar cell and module

In this paper, an experiment involving a solar module consisting of serially connected solar cells remotely controlled by a web application is presented. The described experiment is fully automated and is accessed and controlled remotely using a web‐based user interface; a new generation of inexpensive SBC (single‐board computer) devices; flat, light LED sources; and some electronic components. Basically, the experiment consists of a solar module illuminated by a flat LED light source and a programmed electronic variable resistor, which enables collecting the solar module current‐voltage (I–V) characteristics. We found that remote access to lab equipment and experiments has many advantages over traditional scheduled supervised access because it provides a safe virtual environment for work and experimentation using real equipment. Promoting interest in solar cells by introducing students at an early stage of their undergraduate curriculum to the basics (fundamentals) of photovoltaic devices is beneficial in many aspects.

IoT Teaching with Pocket Labs

The IoT and Pocket Labs are popular buzzwords today with the IoT being much better known in wider circles, while the Pocket Labs is a relatively new concept offering new teaching opportunities which are to be further explored and analyzed. Although the IoT & Pocket Labs are not necessarily interconnected or mutually conditioned, this paper discusses such a real case of teaching practice, where the Pocket Labs are a natural solution for teaching of IoT. The paper deals with one semester teaching experience of IoT as a university course. Obtained results and experience may be quite general except for university students profile defined with their previous education and knowledge. Besides the main goal of the course which is an introduction to IoT, some other aims were exploring the social impact of IoT and emphasizing the importance of new original ideas and views being as important as mastering the IoT technologies.

Web physics ontology: Online interactive symbolic computation in physics

Relationships among physical quantities (PQs) express fundamental laws of the Universe. Physics equations represent relationships among PQs and therefore encode the basic knowledge of physics. System of PQs is the natural framework of physics and can be used as a guideline for informational modelling of various scientific aspects of physics. Relationships among PQs can be used for creation of semantic web ontologies that model the knowledge of physics. Leading semantic web ontologies in physics today are based on system of units which directly relies on system of PQs. This paper describes interactive online web application based on symbolic computational ontology (SCO) that models knowledge of physics and which is based on system of PQs primarily, not units. Main SCO design principles can also be applied to other existing physics ontologies and for ontologies in other sciences using formulas. Interactive SCO based web application (SCO-BWA) illustrates dynamic generation of physics equations and numerical calculations.