A Large Scale Web-Based Virtual Oscilloscope Laboratory Experiment

|S.H. Chen, V. Ramakrishnan, R. Chen, S.Y. Hu, Y. Zhuang, |
| |
|C.C. Ko, Ben M. Chen |
|Department of Electrical Engineering |
|National University of Singapore |
|10 Kent Ridge Crescent, Singapore 117576 |
|E-mail: elekocc@nus.edu.sg |

Abstract
VLAB, a pilot web-based virtual laboratory on an oscilloscope experiment has been developed and launched for over 1000 first year undergraduate engineering students in the Faculty of Engineering in NUS (National University of Singapore). Rather than simulating the oscilloscope display on the client as is often done in other virtual laboratories, the system uses real-time video capture of the actual oscilloscope's display. In addition, the use of the mouse to turn the control buttons and knobs of the instrument has been implemented so that a more realistic feel of the instrument is provided. Since its launch, VLAB has in general received positive feedback from numerous users and can be accessed from http://vlab.ee.nus.edu.sg/vlab.

Introduction

The use of the Internet has been expanding exponentially and is now extensively used as a connectivity and reference tool for commercial, personal and educational purposes. In particular, the