A general purpose circuit simulation packaged called SEQUEL has been developed at IIT Bombay. SEQUEL is particularly suitable for teaching coursesin electronics and power electronics. It has a graphical user interface (GUI) which allows the user to enter the circuit in a schematic form, set component values and simulation parameters, and view the simulation results. It also allows exporting of circuit schematics and the simulation plots so that they can be included in reports and presentations. The SEQUEL GUI has been developed for ease and flexibility, and users have found it to be convenient and intuitive. A large number of simulation examples in the areas of electronics and power electronics have been incorporated in SEQUEL. The user can run these examples in the present form, edit them, or make up completely new examples if required. Several technical workshops have been conducted using SEQUEL, and accompanying academic documents have also been developed. SEQUEL is being used in several engineering colleges in India.
In the next phase, we plan to develop an app based on SEQUEL which can be used by engineering college teachers directly in class. With the app, a teacher would be able to cover a specific topic in class, and follow it up with circuit simulation in class. Since most of the students possess a smart phone, the app would be particularly attractive in terms of access. It will enable simulation in class to clarify basic concepts without having to move to a computer lab for that purpose.
Prof. M B Patil