1. VISSER-
Versatile Instrument System for
Science Education and Research
(A collaborative program to enhance
Philippine education)
PHOTOS & DESIGN BY RUE MOJICA

2. Participants
Dr. Giselle Concepcion, UP – VPAA
Dr. Aura Matias, UPD- Dean COE
Dr. Joey Balmaceda, UPD- Dean COS
Dr. Laura David, MSI UP
Prof. Nel Altoveros, Deputy Director, IMSP, UPLB
Dr. Giovanni Tapang, Asso. Dean and NIP, UPD
Prof. Percival Magpantay, EEE UPD
Prof. Romarie Lorenzo, EEE UPD
Dr. R.D. Mel Gomez, ECE Department, UMD

3. Phil: 1,100 mins (per week)
Brunei: 810 mins
Singapore: 540 mins
Malaysia's: 360 mins
Phil Rank in Global
Competitiveness report:
2011: 112th out of 139
2012: 115th out of 142.
World Bank Data (government spending per year in education)
Phil: $138 Thailand: $853 Singapore: $1,800 Japan: $5,000.
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.htmlres=9807E6D71031F936A1575BC0A9
6F9C8B63

4. Why?
1. Insufficient science equipment; Teachers resort to oral
instructions in lieu of manipulative materials.
2. Lack of science rooms (even in science high schools).
3. (Some) Principals lack the basic training in science.
4. Science instruction is done incidentally; concepts
incorporated in English.
5. (Some) Teachers lack the basic science information and
training.
6. (Some) Teacher training schools do not give emphasis in
science as a subject.
www.interaksyon.com/article/25983 March 4, 2012

5. Proposed Solution
• Start a program to develop low-cost
multipurpose instrumentation and laboratory
modules for Philippine secondary schools.
• Hardware is a handheld, microcontroller
controlled unit, working with a wide
assortment of plug&play sensors and probes.
• Open source system to allow 3rd party
developers to contribute “apps”.

6. Program Implementation
• Development is over 2 years
• Begin with 2-week summer workshop to
introduce the idea to the smartest and brightest
recruits and students of the UP system.
• They will be trained and will develop prototype
laboratory modules.
• Activities will followed by an intensive
development, testing, validation, manufacturing,
documentation and deployment phases.

7. Benefit to Higher Education
• Participants will gain extensive knowledge of
microcontroller
systems, electronics, mathematics, oral and
written communications;
• Exposure to design processes under realistic
constraints including economics, political and
ethical dimensions;
• Instill spirit of working for the common good.

8. Project Development Plan
Step 1
Step 2 Step 4
Laboratory
Modules
Manufacturing
Teacher
Instructions Step 3

9. Sample Concept Unit-
Visser Handheld
Features:
• Affordable, Versatile, Compact
• Easy to learn and Intuitive
• User-friendly, Durable
• Upgradable and User driven content
• Modern and Sophisticated
• Open Source Environment

10. Visser Handheld Prototype
Main Control Unit
function Size:
buttons 4.5”x3.5”x1”
LCD
display
ac/dc
6 channel 2.1 mm jack
input sensor
ports SD card
memory
USB port

11. Multi-functional Sensors
main control unit
9V battery
digital scale
camera
digital thermometer
ultrasonic distance sensor
(Sample applicable laboratory topics are in appendix).

12. Operation Modes
1. Standalone Mode:
A multifunctional instrument, functions as:
Clock/Stopwatch/Timer, Ruler, Weighing scale, Digital
thermometer, Barometer, Pressure sensor, Force
sensor, Camera, Audio recorder, DC volt
meter, Magnetometer, Inclinometer, 3-axis
Accelerometer, …
2. Data logger mode:
Simultaneously data acquisition from 6+ inputs, with time
stamp and up to 56,000x per second sampling rate

13. Expansion Features
1. Configurable to activate relays and actuators, connect
and interact with Internet, Wi-Fi
connectivity, Bluetooth, Xbee RF protocols, GSM network
2. Interconnection to form sensor arrays.
3. User-programmable.
(Think of it as a smartphone for Philippine labs)

14. The Opportunity: Enhancing
Education and Tapping into
Filipino’s Ingenuity
• Excellent opportunity exists in the Philippines to design
and develop home grown content-driven system to
alleviate lack of labs in secondary schools and modernizing
them.
• We will tap the Filipino’s creativeness and resourcefulness
to develop low cost but sophisticated instrumentation to
benefit the Filipino people.

15. Current Support
1. DOST Balik-Scientist
2. UP OVPAA
3. UP Diliman, College of Engineering
4. UP Diliman, College of Science
5. Alexan Corporation

16. Support is Needed
1. Expertise and review.
2. Financial Investment.
3. Manufacturing Organization.
4. DepEd Connections and Adoption
5. Political Support

17. Thank you!
Romel D. Gomez, PhD
Keystone Professor and Associate Chair for
Undergraduate Education
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering
University of Maryland
College Park, MD 20905 USA
rdgomez@umd.edu

18. Appendix

19. Sample Modules
Chemistry
• Gases:
pressure, volume, temperature, ideal gas law
• Thermodynamics:
heat capacity, heat transfer, cooling and heating
rates, latent heat
• Electrochemistry:
ionic concentration, acidity/alkalinity
(pH), voltammetry, energy
Biology
conversion, spectroscopy
electrical nerve stimulation, action potential
measurements, principles of sonogram
figure: chemlabs.bris.ac.uk, : ithaca.edu,
imaging,

20. Sample Modules (cont.)
Environmental Sensing
ion/pollutant concentration of drinking water
barometric pressure and weather sensing
Weather Science
pressure and air temperature sensing, rainfall
levels, ocean/water temp, air speed, earthquake
detection
Physics, Mechanics:
free fall, inclined plane, rotation, periodic
motion, pendulum, impulse, forces, acceleration
Figures: chemlabs.bris.ac.uk, shutterstock.com

21. Sample Modules (cont.)
• Optics and Waves
interference, diffraction, encoding, amplitude
modulation, acoustic waves and resonance
• Electronics and Electromagnetics
measurement of voltage, voltage division, series and
parallel circuits, periodic waveforms, capacitive
discharge, transient signals, magnetic field
sensing, DC power, photovoltaic cells
• Fluids
pressure and air flow, Bernoulli’s principle
Figures:hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu, opticasoftware.com, shutterstock.com, springwaterone.com

22. Sample Modules: (cont.)
• Robotics:
automation, sensing and actuation, open loop
closed loop feedback implementation
• Signal modeling and processing:
discrete Fourier Transforms, DSP, PID
controllers
Many more …
Figures: http://robotics.unibg.it, assignmenthelp.net