Enhancing Environmental Awareness of Freshman Engineering Students through Real-Time Monitoring
with LabVIEW Software
Parhum Delgoshaei
Virginia Tech
Abstract
Chelsea Green
Divyang Prateek
Virginia Tech
Virginia Tech
Michael Sadowski
Virginia Tech
Virginia Tech
Assessment
Real-Time Water Quality Data in Classroom
LabVIEW programming language gradually integrated in a freshman
engineering course, EngE 1024, Fall ’07 – Spring ’10
LabVIEW Enabled Watershed Assessment System (LEWAS) developed to
remotely monitor water and weather quality parameters in real-time
Temperature,
Dissolved Oxygen,
pH, Specific Conductivity
Internet
Monitoring takes place in real-time through a web-based interface and
system parameters such as sampling time can be changed remotely
It is anticipated that LEWAS would raise students’ environmental
awareness
LabVIEW Dataflow Programming
LabVIEW output of temperature probe readings
Data flow programming
approach is suitable for many
engineering applications
Data Acquisition (DAQ)
activities demonstrate how
data can be collected from
physical phenomena such as
temperature and processed in
dataflow
In-Class activity allows
students to derive Newton’s
law of cooling by applying
regression on collected data
to arrive at equation relating
temperature and time
DAQ extended to
processing environmental
data
Agree
ENGE 1024
Lecture
Water Quality Sonde
Neutral
LabVIEW Web Publishing
2010
Disagree
2009
Strongly Disagree
Temperature, Barometric compactRio embedded computer: processing, storing,
Pressure, Relative
transmitting data (wireless)
Humidity,Precipitation,
Wind Speed
0
10
20
30
40
Percentage
50
60
• My knowledge of watersheds and local water quality
problems was enhanced by the "Know your Watershed"
worksheet.
Strongly Agree
Agree
Neutral
Disagree
Weather Station
Strongly Disagree
0
Velocity, Flow, Volume
LabVIEW program loaded on compactRio
Flow Meter
Live Demonstration in EngE 1024: Virtual Instrument front panel shows realtime data from a multi-probe sonde in an indoor laboratory
10
20
30
Percentage
40
50
• Rate the LabVIEW programming activities done in this
course (in-class, workshop, and homework) in conveying
basic programming concepts.
Very Poor
Poor
Data from impaired stream: outdoor Lab
Applications in Environmental Monitoring
 LabVIEW dataflow is well suited for collection, processing and communication of
environmental data and can be used to teach sustainability concepts.
 A new module for EngE 1024 focusing on water quality monitoring of an impaired
on-campus stream and its applications in environmental sustainability was
introduced in fall ‘09
 Water quality monitoring will enable us to explore answers for questions such as:
 What are the natural ranges and the storm, seasonal and annual variability in
water quality parameters?
 What locations do parameters fall outside the natural range and to what
duration and extent?
 What are the pollutant loadings from controllable and uncontrollable sources
and in the watershed?
• Access to real-time environmental data can enhance my
awareness and curiosity about environmental issues such as
the state of an impaired stream that runs through campus.
Strongly Agree
Collected data used to raise awareness of environmental sustainability
System indoor function verified: real-time streaming to EngE 1024 students
(Fall ’10) and outdoor deployment to impaired stream (to be completed S’11)
Equipment Setup for DAQ Activity
Vinod K. Lohani
Satisfactory
Good
Excellent
0
5
10
15
20
25
Percentage
30
35
40
45
Conclusion and Future Directions
Future site of deployment (planned
completion, May ‘11). Mounting
poles in place, solar panel, batteries
and wireless to be installed
Virginia Tech’s campus; site indicated by
star
• LabVIEW can be used to provide students with real-time environmental
data from an impaired on-campus stream and enhance their environmental
awareness
• The impact of access to environmental data in real-time on student
interest and motivation will be investigated when the system is fully
functional in the field.
• Showing the value of environmental monitoring
• Showing that students have the ability to apply the programming
language (LAbVIEW) in real-world application
Conference on Higher Education Pedagogy, Feb 3rd – Feb 4th 2011, Virginia Tech, National Science Foundation DLR Grant 0431779 and NSF-REU Site Grant 0649070
Contact: pd1352@vt.edu, seagreen@vt.edu, divyang@vt.edu, michas2@vt.edu, vlohani@vt.edu