The use of breadboards (sometimes known as Blue-Boards or
Plug-Boards) in electronics labs is well established. However, it is also
a problem, in that students may not be able to experiment outside of scheduled
lab time without supervision. If a breadboard simulation were available online
it would greatly
enhance learning resources for these students.
The Objective of the project would be to develop a JAVA Applet which displays the image of a breadboard and allows components to be selected for the circuit. Once a circuit has been defined, the user can then select various input signals from a set of available waveforms, or apply signals via switches. The project could focus exclusively on analog or digital circuits, or take a general approach and allow both types of components to be used. There will be some graphics involved as part of the JAVA programming.
Outline Plan
[1] Investigate basic requirements of the system, such as typical uses for
learning & experimenting
[2] Identify software specification
[3] Identify components to be supported & how they could be simulated
[4] implement & test software
[5] develop a small set of example experiments for use of the breadboard tool.
Notes On running the
program and download
HOWTO: Enable loading and saving in the applet
User Guide
Example Circuits
Creating new Chips
I would really appreciate you feedback. I am especially interested in:
Send queries and feedback to:
Nick is no longer in the department.
You can contact chrisb @ cs .