ECE Instructional Labs

Description

The Electronics Laboratory has 30 stations, 2 students may work on each one. Stations are equipped with a Lenovo PCs and Keysight/Agilent test instruments. Students also use Picoscopes borrowed at the service window and Mixed Signal Oscilloscopes for advanced courses and applications. This facility supports introductory ECE courses in analog and (partially) digital circuits and electronics with modern industry-standard equipment and software. A few freshman EK131/132 modules are held here, too. The lab also supports advanced experiments in signals and systems, communications, and photonics as well as the lab portion of power electronics graduate course. Students typically use the lab on an open basis. In the service window hundreds of common discrete components are available. Modern software including Cadence that supports SPICE circuit simulation and PCB layout is installed on all 30 computers.

Courses

EK130/1/2, EK307, EC311, EC410, EC412, EC578, EC583.
Note: EK307 and EC410 have multiple modules

Software used in instruction

• OrCAD
• PSpice
• MATLAB
• Code Composer Studio
• MS Office Professional
• Draftsight

Resources

There are 30 stations in the Electronics Lab. Each station consists of:

• Lenovo ThinkCentre workstation running Windows 7
• Agilent Multimeter 34401A
• Agilent triple DC power supply E3631A
• 12 stations additionally include AC power supplies
• Agilent Function Generator 33120A or 33220A
• Oscilloscopes
  • 12 stations include Agilent MSO6012A mixed signal oscilloscopes
  • 18 stations use PicoScopes
• Advance station equipped with LCR Meter, HF 3GHz Generator, two Dual Channel Function Generators, Frequency counter, and LeCroy Oscilloscope

Other equipment includes 10 soldering stations, three projectors hooked up to the instructor computer, and a network printer.

Description

Senior Project Lab supports our senior design teams, serving real-world corporate customers such as Analog Devices, government agencies like NASA, community groups like Boston public schools, social service agencies, artists, and small businesses, as well as faculty and staff across the University. Each team has 24/7 access to a permanent bench setup with a networked Pentium PC, benchtop Agilent test equipment, and CAD software for schematic entry, simulation, PCB layout and mechanical design. Electronics assembly and machine shop support is provided. Shared tools include high speed scopes, logic analyzers, spectrum analyzers, E-prom, PLA and FPGA burners, and various compilers and cross-compilers for FPGA, DSP and micro-controller development. Software from MSDNAA is available for all teams.

Courses

EC463 and EC464

Software used in instruction

• 21 Lenovo M92p workstations with Windows 7
  • Intel Core i7 & 8GB of RAM
• Agilent 54600B Oscilloscopes
• Agilent Mixed signal Oscilloscopes MSO 6012A
• Agilent waveform generators 33120A
• Agilent triple DC power supplies E3631A
• Agilent multi-meters 34401A

Resources

• Local applications managed by independent student teams
• Each team has access to a network share mapped to a local N: drive.
• Projects should be stored in this directory for backups and future use.

Standard Software includes:

• Matlab
• Labview
• MS Office Standard
• MS Project
• MS Visio

Description

Flexble Project Lab is available to senior design teams, student clubs, and other projects supporting the ECE department’s educational mission.

Courses

EC463 and EC464

Software used in instruction

• Always changing to meet project needs, but you may find:
  • 6 Lenovo M92p workstations with Windows 7
    • IntelCore i7 & 8GB of RAM
  • Agilent 54600B Oscilloscopes
  • Agilent Mixed signal oscilloscopes MSO6012A
  • Agilent Waveform generators 33120A
  • Agilent Triple DC power supplies E3631A
  • Agilent Multi-meters 34401A

Description

An instructional and research lab, the Software Engineering Laboratory (SEL) supports courses and research on the economical design of reliable software for large-scale and embedded computer-based systems. The laboratory provides students with state-of-the-art workstations for the design, implementation, and testing of software and programmable hardware.

There is a Private LAN for developing network protocols or testing embedded systems.

Courses

EC307, EC311/312, EC327, EC330, EC410, EC441, EC447, EC450, EC504, EC512, EC518, EC535, EC551, EC700, EC712, and EC751.

Hardware

• 21 ThinkCentre M83 With Windows 7
  • IntelCore i5 & 8GB of RAM
• 21 Nexsys3 FGPA development boards
• 1 Signal/Function Generator
• 3 Agilent Oscilloscopes
• Speakers
• Canon Projector
• Dell B5460dn Laser Printe
• HP Color LaserJet M651

Software

• Altium 15.0
• Firefox ESR
• Adobe Reader DC
• Google Chrome
• Matlab/Simulink 2015a
• McAfee 8.8
• Microsoft Office 2013 with Visio & Project
• Modelsim SE
• TI Code Composer Studio
• Visual Studio .NET 2013
• Xilinx ISE Design Suite
• MobaXterm

Description

The Microprocessor and PC Laboratory features instruction in the programming and interfacing of microcomputers and digital controllers. Higher-level courses emphasize the design of systems using microprocessors. Various simulators and analysis packages are available.

Lab Info

Location: Photonics Building, Room 117 (1823 sf + 75 sf service)
Faculty: Attaway
Managing Staff: Fortin, Goebel
Support: enghelp@bu.edu or 617-353-1244

Courses

EK127, EK131/132, and EC751.

Equipment

• Projector: Sanyo xtraXhigh Multimedia Projector PCC XP20N

Description

The High Performance Computing Laboratory at Boston University was created with support from the National Science Foundation (NSF) in order to support the development of undergraduate courses in parallel and high performance computing. The courses offered at Boston University serve as a national model for computational science education. The lab features a network of multimedia graphics workstations linked at high speed to the supercomputers at the Center for Computational Science and the Scientific Computing and Visualization Lab.

Lab Info

Location: Photonics Building, Room 207 (502 sf)
Faculty: Giles, Herbordt
Managing Staff: Goebel, Fortin
Support: enghelp@bu.edu or 617-353-1244

Courses

EC450, EC527

Hardware

• 16 HP Z400 Workstations
  • 4GB RAM
  • EVGA nVidia GeForce 285 CUDA graphics cards

Software

• BU Linux Operating System
• Matlab/Simulink
• CUDA SDK

Description

The mission and focus of the former High Tech & Toys Laboratory (HTTTL) was reorganized to address educational needs for the Smart Lighting ERC. This lab is now equipped with ten contemporary workstations,a mechanical shop area, and a lighting cage compatible with the Communications Testbed at BU. A variety ofresearch engaging undergraduates can be completed in this facility which serves as a persistent lab space forexperimenting with and designing the next generation of lighting, biosensing, and communications projects.

Lab Info

Location: Photonics Building, Room 208
Faculty: Little
Managing Staff: Goebel, Fortin
Support: enghelp@bu.edu or 617-353-1244

Hardware

• 10 HP Z400 workstations
• Lighting cage and power distribution system
• 8 SL1 Smart Light units
• 8 IP-Video cameras
• 10 openWRT-based Linksys routers
  
• Gumstix and Wili embedded linux platforms
• 30 Sun SunSPOT 32-bit motes
• 150+ MicaZ/2 and Imote motes
• Soldering stations

Software

• MS Windows 7 Pro
• Matlab/Simulink
• Visual Studio .NET
• Microsoft Office
• Cadence Allegro SPB
• Altium

Description

The VLSI Instructional Laboratory of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) is involved in almost all aspects of digital design. We have a wide range of EDA/CAD tools available for student use, including Cadence, Synopsys, IBM and NCSU Design Toolkits.

Lab Info

Location: Photonics Building, Room 305
Faculty: Hubbard, Knepper, Joshi
Managing Staff: Goebel, Fortin
Support: enghelp@bu.edu or 617-353-1244

Courses

EC311/312, EC401, EC463/464, EC551, EC571, EC580, EC582, EC700-A1

Hardware

• 30 Lenovo ThinkCentre M91p workstations
  • 8GB ram
  • 3GHz Quad core processors
  • 24″ 1920×1200 Dell monitorsr
• Dell B5460dn Laser Printe
• HP Color LaserJet M651

Lab Software

• BU Linux 6 (Neo)
• Matlab
• Cadence
  • IC5141 (5.10.41.500.4.64) main ICpackage
  • IC612, IC614
  • ASSURA317, SOC710, IUS81, SPB1601
• BiCMOS7WL & BiCMOS8HP: (IBM_PDK for MOSIS chip development)
• Synopsys
  • sold, syn, css, tx
• Mentor Graphics ModelSim
• Comsol
• OPNET
• ANSYS HFSS
• NS (network simulator)
  • ns-allinone
  • ns-wireless

Description

This laboratory provides instructional facilities for courses in the areas of signal processing and communication networks. This laboratory houses numerous workstations for digital signal processing, image processing, and various real-time applications covering the complete audio frequency spectrum. Equipment includes Linux-based workstations, microphones, DSP boards, speakers, amplifiers and software packages such as MATLAB. The courses served by this laboratory include EC401 (Signals and Systems), EC415 (Communication Systems), EC416 (Intro to Digital Signal Processing), EC441 (Introduction to Computer Networking), EC516 (Digital Signal Processing), EC541 (Computer Communication Networks) and some ECE modules in EK130 (Introduction to Engineering). On the communications side, experiments involving data communication links, local-area networks, and wide-area networks are supported. Powerful computer-based simulation and analysis tools are available to compare and evaluate network designs. Facilities are also provided with a new dedicated network lab, the Cyber Security Laboratory, which enables experimentation with local-area and wireless networks.

Courses

EK131/132, EC312, EC401, EC415, EC416, EC441, EC455, EC512, EC515, EC516, EC541, EC551, EC566

Hardware

• 60 Lenovo All in One M93z
  • Intel I5 & 8GB Ram
• Dell B5460dn Laser Printer
• HP Color LaserJet M651
• Sanyo PLC-XP20N Projector
• Wireless Microphone and audio system (in closet)

Lab Software

• BU Linux 6 (Neo)
• Matlab
• Cadence Tools (e.g. IC5141)
• Synopsys
  • sold, syn, css, tx
• Mentor Graphics
  • Modelsim
• Comsol Multiphysics
• Xilinx ISE
• Eclipse
• ddd
• GNU Tool Chain (e.g. GCC, GDB, DDD)
• ns-2

Description

The Cyber Security Laboratory enables security assessment and penetration testing of wireline and wireless networks. Workstations in the lab run the BackTrack Linux distribution which regroups hundreds of utilities for information gathering, network mapping, password cracking, privilege escalation, and digital forensics, including Wireshark, a versatile packet sniffer, and ettercap, a suite for man-in-the-middle attacks. BackTrack Linux also includes several utilities targeting wireless networks, e.g., Kismet, an IEEE 802.11 layer 2 wireless network detector, sniffer and intrusion detection system.

Courses

EK 131/132 (Hacking, Wireless Networking), EC441 (Introduction to Computer Networking)

Hardware

• 10 Dell GX620 desktops
  • BU Linux
  • Windows XP VM
  • BackTrack 5R2 VM
• Independent Ethernet and 802.11g wireless networks act as sandboxes
  • Cisco 3950 level 2 switch
  • Linksys wireless Router
  • TP-Link 802.11g USB wifi adapters

Software

• Wireshark
• Ettercap
• Kismet

Description

This laboratory houses 4 ECP model 220 Industrial Plant Emulators for studying the control of practical systems. These systems consist of an electromechanical apparatus including an adjustable mechanical mechanism (plant) with actuators and sensors. Various types of controllers (e.g. PID, State- Feedback, LQR) can be designed and implemented in either continuous or discrete time formulations using a DSP-based real-time controller with a Windows graphical interface. Non-ideal conditions that are often present in real-world applications can be studied. Integrated with the systems are MATLAB and SIMULINK design tools, which can be used to design control systems that can then be implemented in the hardware. Analytical models of both the “plant” and the “controller” can be validated with actual hardware responses.

Courses

EC402 Control Systems

Hardware

• 4 HP Z400 Workstations
• Windows 7
• 4GB Ram

Software

• Matlab/Simulink
• Powerworld
• Xilinx ISE Design Suite
• MobaXterm
• TI Code Composer Studio

Description

The Photonics Instructional Laboratory supports introductory and intermediate level courses in the MS in Photonics program. Four stations each have a vibration isolated optical table, HeNe and semiconductor lasers, fiber components and systems, electronic test equipment, and GPIB-connected PCs for LabVIEW data logging and instrument control. Shared equipment exists for experiments and demonstrations in interferometry, spectrometry, diffraction, holography, acoustic and electro-optic modulation, and optical spectrum analysis. A secure annex room houses two additional isolated tables, electronics and optical equipment to support thesis and senior design projects that require long-term setup of apparatus.

Courses

EC591 Photonics Laboratory I, EC592 Photonics Laboratory II

Hardware

• 4 Dell Optiplex 755 desktops
  • Intel 3.2 GHz Core 2 Duo Processor & 4 GB Ram
• 1 Dell Optiplex 780 desktop
  • Intel 3.16 GHz Core 2 Duo Processor & 4 GB Ram

Software

• MATLAB/Simulink
• RSoft Photonics CAD suite 8.2 RC1
• SpectraSuite By Ocean Optics