Implementing a Neutron-Diagnostic advanced DAQ system use case on a PXIe platform through a 3D remote laboratory

IRIO-3DLab is devised to enhance the learning process and reduce the development time for engineers in charge of designing intelligent DAQ systems based on PXIe technology and distributed control systems such as Experimental Physics In Control Systems (EPICS). IRIO-3DLab consists of an OpenSimulator-based virtual world that aims to promote the understanding of how DAQ systems work. This contribution describes how to use IRIO-3DLab to implement a Neutron-Diagnostic use case using a PXIe platform, which includes setting up the hardware remotely and configuring the EPICS IOC and the interface with the application using Control System Studio (CSS). IRIO-3DLab allows users to connect the real hardware with its virtual replicas and select the application to be implemented in a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA). The FPGA addresses Pulse, Campbelling and Current mode measurements of the signals acquired. When the user selects the application, there is an associated EPICS application implementing the data gathering. The virtual world allows the user to first set the waveform generator used to generate predefined signal patterns to check the correct measurement and then to interface with the operator panel to assess the results obtained. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.