Abstract:

The rapid development of computer and communication technologies and the widespread use of personal computers, including mobile phones with Internet connectivity, determine new directions in the development of information-management technologies. This aspect is also conditioned by the created pandemic situation, in which the rapid adaptation and incorporation of technologies and environments are necessary for distance learning of the students in engineering education.

Students need to study in-depth the features and principles of virtual tools to develop skills and competencies necessary for their engineering development.
The dynamic development of computer technologies determines the mass use of computer-based systems for data collection (DAC) and control, built based on specialized PC boards, modules, and components.

Through them, with the help of appropriate software, the PC becomes a virtual instrument (VI) with wide functional possibilities and great flexibility, providing students with efficiency and quick adaptability in mastering the difficult conceptual theoretical material.

Virtual instruments consist of an interactive user interface, a data flow diagram (program code), and a link icon that allows the VI to be called as a subroutine from other VIs.

The VI's interactive user interface is called the front panel because it resembles the panel of a physical device. The front panel may include buttons, sliders, graphic display, and other input fields and indicators. Information can be entered using the keyboard or mouse and then the results can be seen on the screen.
The LABVIEW virtual instrument needs to be studied by students because it is extremely easy and accessible for them. It includes libraries for receiving, analyzing, presenting, and storing data. It also provides the ability to use a wide range of libraries to perform various analyzes.

The LabVIEW software environment allows you to load data that can be processed in different ways; data pre-entered into the program (directly or generated by some signal or other data generator), data received from an external doc or excel file (received for example from a file server) or data received in real-time from an external measuring or DAQ device.

Students at any time can make an impact on the model created by them, which is a prerequisite for building abstract and logical thinking.

They can create and monitor different types of charts, which helps them to quickly analyze the processing of a large set of data.

The virtual tool LABVIEW also allows differentiating individual sections of a given graph and to change the number of experiments for which the respective research is made.

This virtual tool enables students to develop their talents in the field of programming by creating program code that manages the respective virtual components or models.

The use of virtual instruments in the conditions of COVID-19 is necessary for engineering education, which allows students to better understand the basic scientific and engineering concepts by performing experimental research from a distance. This is extremely useful and necessary for their development in this field of science.

Keywords:

Virtual, instrument, LabVIEW.