Design of WEB laboratory for programming and use of an FPGA device

Abstract

This paper covers a topic on design and implementation of web-based laboratory for programming and use of an FPGA device. This web-based laboratory will be used for remote programming and control of an FPGA device designed for use in the course “Introduction to Design and Control of Integrated Circuits for Communication, Sensors and Actuators” in Faculty of Engineering, University of Kragujevac. Because of limited laboratory resources, both human and technical, needed for teaching programming of an FPGA devices on Faculty of Engineering, University of Kragujevac, a web-based laboratory is a viable solution to the problem This approach was proved successful in the past, namely in the course “Measurement and Control” on the Faculty of Engineering, University of Kragujevac, where 190 students have successfully done four laboratory exercises via web-based laboratory on four experimental setups. Experimental setup is consisted of Digilent Nexys2-FPGA development board connected to the USB port for programming, and Arduino Leonardo development board with Firmata firmware for controlling physical inputs of the FPGA board. Software for this web-based laboratory was written using MEAN stack. Outcomes of this work are full implementation of a web-based laboratory for teaching purposes of programming and control of an FPGA device, with all documentation needed for students to successfully pass a course “Introduction to Design and Control of Integrated Circuits for Communication, Sensors and Actuators” in Faculty of Engineering, University of Kragujevac.