This unique site is a server that allows users to run control experiments remotely over the Internet. Originally set up to serve only UTC students, the site now welcomes other users as well. It is supported by UTC's Center for Excellence in Computer Applications and by the National Science Foundation. How it works Upon accessing the site, users can run an experiment with controls or process dynamics. A system is selected to control pressure, temperature, voltage, flow, level, position, or speed.
Users then input their own parameters, configurations, and specifications.
These remotely run experiments are turned into command files that are decoded by data acquisition cards, also from National Instruments. These cards produce variables that run actual physical control systems configured in a UTC lab. After an experiment is completed, a results file is written to the server, which creates a dynamic web page displaying these results back to the user. Thus, if more than one person tries to run an experiment at the same time, both experiments will not run at once. They will be run in sequence based on the order the commands reach the server.