A creative and low-Cost method of teaching hands-on engineering experimentation using virtual instrumentation

Abstract

Virtual instrumentation is now used in the college level to teach mechanical engineering experimentation to undergraduates at Tufts University. By combining LabVIEW® with LEGO® Dacta blocks, students learn to write virtual instrumentation programs to interact with external sensors and actuators in an innovative hands-on approach to engineering experiments. The LEGO Data Acquisition and Prototyping System (LDAPS) is a collection of versatile LEGO sensors, motors, building blocks, and a computer I/O interface as well as LabVIEW Student Edition. It provides a highly capable, infinitely versatile, and expandable system for data acquisition and experimentation. The system is inexpensive (under $500 for a complete workstation without the computer), and because of the nature of LEGO blocks, it is fun, easy to use, and inspires creativity in students. By combining the LDAPS tools with the LabVIEW graphical programming language, students can create their, own virtual instruments to acquire and analyze data with LEGO sensors, perform advanced signal-processing techniques, or program LEGO vehicles for interactive control. This article presents the method by which students are taught engineering experimentation and virtual instrumentation as well as describes the college-level course where it is used and a brief outline of how the same concepts are taught to students in other classes and in grades K-12. © 1998 National Instruments. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.