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| Vol. 18, No. 19 | Feb. 11, 1999 |
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| Vol. 18, No. 19 | Feb. 11, 1999 |
Researchers working with Daniel W. van der Weide (seated, second from right),
electrical and computer engineering, spoof their need for the high-tech WebCoffee system,
a light-hearted demonstration of remote access instrumentation principles. Pictured are (front,
from left), Vivek Agrawal, Rob March, van der Weide and Toralf Bork, along with (rear)
Janusz Murakowski, Bjorn Rosner and Xiaoqing Wang.
By hopping onto an Internet site promising "the coolest hot coffee on Earth," van der Weide's research group can make coffee from any web-connected computer in the world. Hitting a "brew" button on a computer screen triggers a bean grinder attached to their Capresso coffee maker in UD's Remote Access Instrumentation Laboratory (RAIL). The grinder hums, the machine's coffee compartment snaps shut, and the pot fills with water, signaling the start of the brewing cycle.
On the web, a smiling coffee bean began to frown recently, as research associate Toralf Bork tapped a computer mouse, changing the strength of the coffee from strong to weak. The unhappy, weak bean was followed on screen by a decidedly sickly-looking, decaffeinated bean.
"We put a picture here for decaf," Bork shrugged, making the bean smile again by requesting stronger coffee. "But, it isn't really an option."
The UD system, dubbed WebCoffee, "is a simple, real-world demonstration of remote instrumentation principles," explained Kelly M. Galvin, who works with van der Weide in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.
"I can sit down at my desk, pull up this web site, click on the number of cups I want to make and how strong I want it, and a few minutes later, I have real coffee-just like that. It's a great way to show nonscientists what the group is capable of doing. And, I get great coffee every morning."
Indeed, said graduate student Rob March, the group proposed the WebCoffee project "because it's an easy way to show the potential for web-based access to laboratory instruments and processes."
March, a noncoffee drinker, said the system ultimately may result in a "drag-and-drop" software program, allowing researchers to quickly and easily establish web access for many computer-controlled laboratory instruments. Because the UD software interfaces with LabView, a popular commercial product for controlling lab devices remotely, "it should be a seamless, simple procedure," once the technology is refined, March said. "Anybody using LabView should be able to plug in our program for web-based control."
A number of researchers have developed software to control individual instruments or specific processes, explained postdoctoral researcher Vivek Agrawal. But, "the generic protocol to control almost any type of device over the Internet is new," he added. "We wanted to create a universal program."
In the future, it may be possible to control many technologies from a remote location, Agrawal said. "We might use a computer at work to change the air-conditioning level at home, for example, or to activate a security system from a web screen," he said. "These technologies are coming, and UD is at the forefront of the field."
For now, WebCoffee serves primarily as an example of such emerging technologies, said van der Weide, one of 20 scientists to win a 1997 National Science Foundation Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers. Remote instrumentation suggests a variety of outreach opportunities, said van der Weide, who heads UD's state-supported Center for Nanomachined Surfaces.
"If we develop a specialized, one-of-a-kind instrument-for instance, a scanning probe microscope that can observe the surface and the operation of an integrated circuit simultaneously," van der Weide noted, "we could use remote instrumentation to share our technology with other researchers and students at universities and corporations. The researcher could simply send us a sample, then reserve some time to use the instrument remotely."
Through such interactions, remote instrumentation should promote technological progress and economic development, particularly within the semiconductor industry, said van der Weide, who investigates new methods for polishing and characterizing computer chips, or semiconductor integrated circuits.
Among the guests attending the Jan. 15 WebCoffee demonstration were Jack Barrington of Gov. Thomas R. Carper's Semiconductor Initiative, as well as representatives from leading companies, including ThermoMicroscopes, TA Instruments and Rodel Inc.
Web-based access is "an interesting field," which could promote rapid innovations of such high-tech instruments as the TA 2990 Micro-Thermal Analyzer, a device for probing the temperature of various material surfaces, company scientist Gray Slough said.
The WebCoffee project began brewing when a half-dozen of van der Weide's team members were working temporarily in a small office, waiting for their 1,500-square-foot lab to be renovated. Van der Weide proposed the demonstration as a useful way for his group to stay busy, while also learning more about remote instrumentation. The Capresso Co. of Closter, N.J., donated several automatic coffee makers. UD researchers gutted the machines, attached them to a water supply, and created all-new electronic circuitry.
With van der Weide, research team members included March; Agrawal; Bork; former undergraduate Scott Kee; and former doctoral candidate Prayoot Akkaraekthalin.
Web site (to view, not brew): <http://rail.pc.udel.edu/>.
-Ginger Pinholster
