Linktivity Presenter Free Generic Tool

To increase convenience and utilization, it is desirable remote users could gain access to the instruments.

Linktivity Presenter Free Generic Tool

Here we outline the development and testing of a remote instrumentation solution (ULabNet) which provides a free generic tool to create a remote control capability for laboratory instrumentation systems over a variety of Micros of t Windows platforms.

Keywords virtual laboratory, remote laboratory, virtual instrumentation, light scattering, web laboratory, networked laboratory, Netmeeting, DLS, Dynamic Light Scattering.

I. INTRODUCTION An ideal remote instrumentation tool providing generic remote laboratory access should meet these requirements: Require no (or minimal) modification to the existing instrumentation hardware and s of tware: A typical instrument control application maintains a high level of complexity (for instance, performing collection and analysis of data).

A s of tware alteration may be extensive and either impractical or impossible.

Prompt access to remote users: Remote users should obtain access to the shared instrumentation application through an internet enabled computer promptly after the tool is installed.

Operate transparently: The remote user should operate the system as much as possible as he would if present at the equipment in the laboratory and the application window should look similar and be augmented by audio and video links to the laboratory.

Provide simultaneous multi-user capability: For orderly execution, the experiment should be run by only one remote user.

However, other remote users should have the opportunity to follow the experiment progress (e.g.

They should also be able to interact with the remote user currently in control.

Be low cost: The proposed tool should prove economical to be implemented.

Be useful for other applications: Although not the specific purpose of this tool, such a general purpose facility could be useful in teaching laboratories by allowing remote access to students.

II. PROPOSED APPROACH For the particular case of the Laser Light Scattering Laboratory, the developed system should work on any 32 bit version of Micros of t Windows and adapt to the particular platform based application.

A. The Dynamic Light Scattering System at LLSMS Although intended as a general tool, ULabNet was developed for a well established and heavily used Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS) system maintained by the Laser Light Scattering and Materials Science group of the University of South Australia.

It consists of an Ar laser, a digital correlator and an automated goniometer to adjust the required scattering angle (Figure 1).

Fig. 1. DLS system block diagram The lens L1 focuses the laser beam down into the sample which is enclosed in a temperature controlled vat surrounded by refractive index matching liquid.

Light scattered at an angle is focused onto the photomultiplier tube which is used as a detector - by lens L2 and pinholes S1 and S2.

The uncorrelated data is obtained from the photomultiplier tube to Page 2 and 3: a specialized digital correlator vi Page 4 and 5: Microsoft (2005) also states that L Page 6: consult the Netmeeting SDK).

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