Distance learning in digital electronics: Laboratory practice on FPGA

Remote teaching and execution of exercises and experiments provide a wide flexibility for students in choosing time and place to study. Interactive remotely controlled experiments are nowadays possible in several fields such as biochemistry, electronic measurements, digital electronics, etc.. In digital electronics an interesting application of remote teaching is given by Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGA). In this paper a new implementation of a distance course for FPGA is proposed. The project is based on an e-learning system including a geographically distributed laboratory and allowing remote control of FPGA applications. Examples of distance-controlled binary to decimal converter, two-wheel vehicle and robotic arm are shown.