 Editor's Note
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For many, the academic year ends in May with frenetic activity around final exams. At Quanser, energized activities extend well into the summer as we attend various conferences. While scholars present their latest research findings, Quanser presents the latest tools that help enhance research or teaching labs. For those who missed this year's ACC or ASEE conferences, here are some of the highlights:
* Delegates at ACC and ASEE had an exclusive opportunity to experience Quanser's Innovation Hub, where visitors had a chance to fly the Qball unmanned aerial vehicle.
* Professors using MATLAB/Simulink who were looking for new options, enjoyed virtual simulations of Quanser's experiments.
* Professors who use LabVIEW and visited the National Instruments booth, saw how Quanser's experiments integrate ti help teach control.
* We also showed how professors in Australia, Singapore and United Kingdom are utilizing Virtual Labs to simulate an industrial facility.
Learn what else visitors saw on the ASEE and ACC exhibit floors.
If you missed us at a recent event, you will have plenty of other opportunities to see the newest innovations in the upcoming months. Check the events calendar, or visit us in person.
Have a safe summer! |
 New Teaching Tools
Hands-on Tools with New Possibilities
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 Quanser's booth at ASEE and ACC conferences had something for everyone - whether you teach control principles or focus on advanced research; work with actual plants or prefer virtual simulations. Our 3 DOF Gyroscope demonstrated both options: a real-time virtual environment
simulation of the device ran in parallel to the actual controller commanding
the plant. The simulation was enhanced with visualization tools of QUARC, Quanser's real-time software, which s eamlessly integrates with  MATLAB/Simulink. This Virtual Plant Simulation (VPS) may be used independently to examine the designed controller on a graphical and
accurate simulation.
Prefer to work with LabVIEW? Not a problem. Quanser's plants are compatible. Rotary servo-based experiments have been control education staples for two decades. Increasingly these experiments are being used not only for teaching controls but also as research platforms. Click here to read more about ASEE & ACC 2010 |
Advanced Teaching and Research
Unmanned Vehicle Initiates Indoor Flight
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 Even though soccer balls were top of mind for many during the World Cup, our Qballs got much attention at two recent conferences. Folks attending ASEE 2010 and ACC 2010 may recall the Qball-X4 is a quadrotor and an
unmanned aerial vehicle that flies indoors. In tandem with Qbot unmanned ground vehicle they make a perfect research platform - which is designed specifically for indoor use to help optimize UVS research. At Quanser's Innovation Hub, we gave ASEE and ACC visitors a chance to try their skills at flying the unmanned vehicle, demonstrated nimble flight capabilities of the Qball during an obstacle avoidance maneuver and demonstrated a fully autonomous mission as well.
Read more about the Innovation Hub experience on our engineering blog. |
Focused on Virtual Labs
Fit an Industrial Experiment in Your Lab |  Your engineering lab would have to be rather spacious to fit in an industrial-scale paper machine. However, with an internet connection and a computer, your students can interact with industrial-scale experiments to learn about Cross Directional Control. Paper Machines is one of the experiments Quanser offers as a Virtual Laboratory (VL) for control system design. This software-based teaching solution is a viable extension of a traditional "physical" lab. It provides a unique problem-based learning environment where students get relevant, hands-on experience that would be difficult or expensive to accommodate otherwise.
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| In Your Own Words |
 "Quanser has been a valuable partner for our research and teaching in haptics and medical robotics. Whether in the classroom or research lab, their customized products helped us to rapidly bridge from theory to experiment and from concept to implementation."
Dr. Shahin Sirouspour, McMaster University, Canada
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Building a Lab Through Systematic Expansion | The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Utah State University received modest funding to build a Mechatronics Lab. Adding new experiments gradually over a few years resulted in a lab that attracts more students.
For the full story click here.
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Innovation Hub Coming to Toronto
|  | Take advantage of a unique opportunity to fly an unmanned aerial vehicle. After successful flights at ASEE and ACC, the next destination of Quanser's Innovation Hub is at the AIAA Guidance, Navigation and Control Conference in Toronto. You are invited to experience how unmanned technology is influencing engineering research.
Mark down the date: August 4, 2010. |
Other Upcoming Events
| See our innovations for teaching & research labs at:
10th Canadian Conference on Earthquake Engineering
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Tell us what you are working on in your lab. We'll publish stories, photos or videos on our blog. Simply email editor@quanser.com |
Visit
www.quanser.com
for more on Control,
Robotics and Mechatronics
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