Spotlight

Engineering Electronics

By Cathryn Crane, NZSM

It looks like an engineering laboratory should look -- equipment piled on benches, a plastic tent hiding a complex array of electronic componentry, extension cords snaking in all directions.

The Graphics Lab at Canterbury University's Engineering School has been operating for 18 months. It's the main base for a dozen undergraduates and three post-graduate engineering students, all overseen by Dr Barry Blundell.

The laboratory is predominantly hardware oriented, with the emphasis on graphics. A small computer system is used to explore a graphics-based electronics training programme. The plastic tent houses the three-dimensional imaging system under development here [see 3D Imaging, August].

It's not all computers and circuit boards. Adam Schwarz is the theoretical one in the lab. He cameto the Engineering Department to do a PhD after completing a degree in physics. He's interested in the mathematical aspects of the work on the 3D display, and has been surprised to find so much of theoretical interest in a hardware-oriented lab.

"I'm not really involved in the practical side of it," he admits. Schwarz sees benefits in studying the esoteric side of things.

"Because it's such a small field, it's easy to become an expert in it," he says. He's hoping that the knowledge will prove useful in gaining one of the overseas scholarships he's after.

Greg Fowlie is in his "third pro" year, the fourth and last of his degree. For the last year, Fowlie has been using large balloons to carry instruments as high as 30 kilometres. Two-way radio links provide a means of gathering data on everything from atmospheric conditions to various types of land surveillance. Fowlie sees all sorts of useful applications, from automatic forest fire monitoring to security

The project hasn't been too easy, with most of the constraints being budget related. Fowlie and his fellow students have had to learn a great deal about temperature control in order to operate inexpensive alkaline batteries at temperatures of -60^oC.

"Ideally, we should have been using lithium batteries," Fowlie notes. "I don't mind having to scrounge around after gear...but it's not so hot when you really need to do something."

Blundell sees some advantages for his students in working under tight budgets. They learn a great deal, he says, and become very resourceful. There are problems though.

"You can't publish a paper saying your results weren't as good as they might have been because you didn't have the money to do it properly. That's just not done," Blundell contends.

"We may not look professional, but we are professional," Fowlie avers.

Blundell hopes to strengthen that sense of professionalism by encouraging engineering companies to make use of the talents and facilities of the Graphics Lab. It'll take a great deal of work, he admits, but you've got to look ahead.