Design and implementation of an online laboratory for introductory digital systems

Abstract

In this thesis, I designed and implemented an online, web-based laboratory system for the Introductory Digital Systems Laboratory course at MIT (6.111). The intent is to allow a student access to a 6.111 labkit, program it, and view the results without ever entering the physical lab room. The lab architecture consists of primarily of two portions: a server and a client. The server programs the Xilinx FPGA on the labkit, and it controls the logic analyzer used to observe the labkit signals. The client is a Java applet that can send code to the server and retrieve logic analyzer data from the server. The user can view and manipulate the retrieved data through the client. The applet is embedded in a web page, along with a video stream that shows the labkit setup live to the user. The user interface is designed to be accessible from any browser, independent of platform.