CCE 348/MTE 348-Section A: Virtual Instrumentation Systems Mr.

Michel Owayjan (Beirut)

AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

FACULTY OF ENGINEERING
DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER AND COMMUNICATIONS ENGINEERING

CCE 348/MTE 348: VIRTUAL INSTRUMENTATION SYSTEMS

Fall Term 2018-2019

INSTRUCTOR Michel Owayjan, M.E.

Email: mowayjan@aust.edu.lb
Website: http://michelowayjan.appspot.com

CLASS HOURS TTH 2:00 pm – 3:15 pm

Room: -3 LabVIEW, Block A

OFFICE HOURS W 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM

TTh 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Otherwise by appointment
Room: 805, Block A

COURSE OBJECTIVES
This course directly links LabVIEW functionality to the application needs, and provides a
jump-start for application development. The course is divided into two constituents: Core 1
and Core 2. Core 1 gives the student the ability to explore the LabVIEW environment,
dataflow programming, and common LabVIEW development techniques in a hands-on
format. The student will learn to develop data acquisition, instrument control, data-logging,
and measurement analysis applications. He/she will be able to create applications using the
state machine design pattern to acquire, process, display, and store real-world data. Core 2 is
an extension of Core 1, and teaches the student to use common design patterns to successfully
implement and distribute LabVIEW applications in research, engineering, and testing
environments. Topics covered include the use of event-driven programming, programmatic
control of user interface, techniques to optimize reuse of existing code, and use of file I/O
functions and tools to create executables and installers.

COURSE PREREQUISITES CSI 205: Computer Programming I

Or Advisor’s consent

PREREQUISITES BY TOPICS The student should have a basic understanding of

programming. Such knowledge will be heavily utilized in Virtual Instrumentation. The course
also assumes a working knowledge of basic computer software.

COURSE CREDITS 3 Credit Hours

INSTRUCTION TECHNIQUE
Lecture will be used predominantly. These will be supported by problem sets and laboratory
projects using LabVIEWTM.

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CCE 348/MTE 348-Section A: Virtual Instrumentation Systems Mr. Michel Owayjan (Beirut)

REQUIRED TEXT
 National Instruments. NI LabVIEW Academy: Student Workbook. National Instruments
Corporation, 2009.

REFERENCES
 National Instruments. LabVIEW Core 1: Course Manual. National Instruments
Corporation, 2012.
 National Instruments. LabVIEW Core 1: Exercises. National Instruments Corporation,
2012.
 National Instruments. LabVIEW Core 2: Course Manual. National Instruments
Corporation, 2012.
 National Instruments. LabVIEW Core 2: Exercises. National Instruments Corporation,
2012.

OTHER REQUIREMENTS
 LabVIEWTM (National Instruments, Austin, TX, USA). Student Edition. Release 2012 or
later edition.

GRADE DISTRIBUTION
This course involves a number of didactic activities, ranging from lectures and computer
laboratory assignments to problem sets, quizzes, and the midterm and final exams. All of
these attributes of the course are intended to help the student in developing his/her
understanding of the material covered in CCE 348 and in providing the department and the
course instructor with information on how the student is performing. Consequently, all of
these activities are considered to be vital and will be taken into consideration while assigning
grades at the end of the term. When the student is being assigned a course grade, it is
imperative that this grade accurately reflects the student’s level of achievement and his/her
mastery of the material covered in CCE 348. An approximate breakdown of the weighting
that will be used in making this assessment is as follows:

Class Attendance ATT 05%

Quizzes QZS 05%
Homework/Problem Sets HWK 05%
CLAD Certification Exam CLAD 15%
Class Exams
Exam No. 1 EX1 20%
Exam No. 2 EX2 20%
Exam No. 3 EX3 20%
Final Exam FIN 30%

Note: Two out of the three exams will be counted towards the final course grade based on the
highest grades attained. No make-up exams are allowed. Late assignments will be dealt with
according to the distributed course rules and regulations, which are governed by the
Department of Computer and Communications Engineering. Under severe conditions, only
the Final Exam is allowed to be petitioned; however, students have to realize that in the event
that a make-up Final Exam is granted, it would be unjust that the grantee becomes privileged
over his/her fellow colleagues in terms of extra-time to prepare for the exam and in
developing an idea about the contents of the exam. Accordingly, the make-up Final Exam will
carry an increased level of difficulty of at least 20% from the regular exam.

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CCE 348/MTE 348-Section A: Virtual Instrumentation Systems Mr. Michel Owayjan (Beirut)

LEARNING OUTCOMES
At the end of the course, the student should be able to do the following:
 Understand front panels, block diagrams, icons, and connector panes
 Create user interfaces with charts, graphs and buttons
 Use the programming structures and data types that exist in LabVIEW
 Use various editing and debugging techniques
 Create and save VIs for use as subVIs
 Display and log data
 Create applications that use data acquisition (DAQ) devices
 Create applications that use GPIB and serial port instruments
 Use the state machine design pattern in your applications
 Use local variables to modify front panel controls or stop parallel loops
 Apply common design patterns that use queues and events
 Use event programming effectively
 Programmatically control user interface objects
 Evaluate file I/O formats and use them in applications
 Modify existing code for improved usability
 Prepare, build, debug, and deploy stand-alone applications

ATTENDANCE
For legitimate reasons only, a student is allowed to absent him/herself for a maximum of
five course lectures. However, any absence of more than one session will be counted toward
the 5% evaluation of the course grade. Absences beyond the specified maximum limit will
result in an automatic AW in the course and possibly other disciplinary measures. An
unexcused absence from an unannounced quiz will result in a zero on that quiz. Should the
student be absent from a lecture during which a problem set or a project assignment is due, it
is the duty of the student to make certain that the homework assignment is handed in on time.
Failure to do so will incur a penalty on that assignment’s grade.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
The student should get familiar with the Students’ Handbook 2015-2017 of AUST. This is
distributed to the student at the beginning of every academic term. The student should also be
aware that plagiarism, abuse of laboratory facilities, and other sorts of academic dishonesty
are not tolerated and can result in unsympathetic penalties. The Department of Computer and
Communications Engineering (CCE) fully acknowledges the potential significance of
students studying together. In this sense, the CCE Department does not have any reservation
to this kind of collaboration, as long as all contestants are involved in all facets of the work,
and not with each individual contributing to a fraction of the assignment. Specifically, when a
student submits an assignment with his/her name on it, the CCE Department takes it for
granted that the details presented in the assignment are entirely the student’s own work, and
that this student has substantially participated in the creation of this work. If a portion of the
work has been conceived by collaborative work, that section should be highlighted and the
names of the students involved in this collaboration should be listed next to that section.

Note: No snacks or beverages, including water bottles, are allowed in the classroom. The
use of cellphones is prohibited.

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CCE 348/MTE 348-Section A: Virtual Instrumentation Systems Mr. Michel Owayjan (Beirut)

PROBLEM SETS
For most part of the course, problem sets will be assigned on a weekly basis. Corrected
problem sets will be returned to the student at the beginning of the lecture that succeeds the
lecture of the homework assignment submission.

LABORATORY ASSIGNMENTS
There will be about three laboratory project assignments throughout the term. Handouts,
containing detailed descriptions of these assignments, will be distributed throughout the
course about one week prior to each assignment.

The laboratory assignments are LabVIEWTM-based, and are graded separately from the
problem set assignments.

To obtain complete credit for laboratory assignments, the student must submit the following
items with the laboratory assignment:

 LabVIEWTM file containing the Front Panel and Block Diagram.

 Completely labeled plots and graphs, together with heading, labeled and scaled axes,
legends (if applicable), grid, and emphasis of any important features.
 Complete answers to the problem given and elucidation of the plots and graphs.
Note: Information about LabVIEWTM products can be found on the following URL: http://www.ni.com/labview.

SOME INTERESTING LINKS

National Instruments Website: http://www.ni.com

COURSE OUTLINE BY TOPIC

The day-to-day topics to be covered in the table below may be adjusted as the subject proceeds, but
all examination dates are fixed, and problem set due dates are unlikely to change.
Week No.
 LabVIEW Core 1 (13 Lectures) 1-7
- Navigating LabVIEW
- Troubleshooting and Debugging VIs
- Implementing a VI
- Developing Modular Applications
- Creating and Leveraging Structures
- Managing Files and Hardware Resources

EXAM No. 1: Tuesday, October 30, 2018 5

- Managing Files and Hardware Resources

- Using Sequential and State Machine Algorithms
- Solving Dataflow Challenges Using Variables

 NI myDAQ (2 Lectures) 9
- Introduction
- Circuits and Electronics
- Mechanical Measurements
- Signals and Systems
- Other Applications

EXAM No. 2: Tuesday, November 27, 2018 9

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CCE 348/MTE 348-Section A: Virtual Instrumentation Systems Mr. Michel Owayjan (Beirut)

 LabVIEW Core 2 (10 Lectures) 10-15

- Moving Beyond Dataflow with Events and Queues
- Implementing Design Patterns
- Controlling the User Interface
- File I/O Techniques

EXAM No. 3: Thursday, December 20, 2018 13

- Improving an Existing VI
- Creating and Distributing Applications

 Revision 16

READING PERIOD 16 S 01/19/2019

Su 01/20/2019

FINAL EXAM WEEK 17-18 M 01/21/2019

T 01/29/2019

DISCLAIMER: Changes may be performed to the above syllabus without any prior notification.

Copyright ©2016-2018 American University of Science & Technology – Faculty of Engineering - Department of Computer and Communications
Engineering. All rights reserved.

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