Construction and implementation of a low-cost electronic experiment control interface

Abstract

Low-cost electronic experiment control boards (ECBs), developed by Walter and Palya (1984), were constructed and implemented for use at the Naval Aerospace Medical Research Laboratory. Each ECB was wired to control experiments using animals as subjects. The ECBs have been connected to IBM-compatible microcomputers and serve essentially as intelligent interfaces between the subject and the microcomputer. Relative advantages and disadvantages of the control board, including construction and programming techniques, as well as cost, are discussed.As research funding dwindles, justifying the use of expensive minicomputers and microcomputers to control simple experiments becomes more difficult. As Walter and Palya (1984) pointed out, the best approach is to use the laboratory mini-or microcomputer for tasks such as database management, data analysis, and graphics presentations and to use an inexpensive experiment control board (ECB) to arrange the contingencies of an experiment and store the resulting data. With the two systems interconnected, the experiment can be controlled inexpensively by the ECB, and the more extensive resources of the minicomputer or microcomputer can be used for data storage, analysis, and graphic representation. If one lab computer is interconnected to several ECBs, then a cost-effective laboratory system can be achieved.At the Naval Aerospace Medical Research Laboratory (NAMRL), such a system has been implemented. The purpose of this paper is to disseminate information about the assembly, setup, and operation of this laboratory computer system, as well as to reveal the advantages and disadvantages of this approach. Construction of the Experiment Control ComputerProcurement of the electronic circuit board (D & D Electronics, Inc., 5175 Moores Mill Road, Huntsville, AL 35811) and the electronic circuit board components was the most time-eonsuming aspect of the project. The electronic components were not all available from a single vendor, and, in some cases, extensive searching of Tradenamesof materials and/orproducts of conunercial or nongovernment organizations are cited as needed for precision. These citations do not constitute official endorsementor approval of the use of such commercial materials and/or products.