'''TIMS''', or '''Telecommunication Instructional Modeling System''', is an [[Electronics|electronic device]] invented by Tim Hooper and developed by Australian engineering company Emona Instruments that is used as a [[Telecommunication|telecommunications]] trainer in educational settings and universities.<ref>{{Cite journalthesis|type=Master's thesis |last=Sarfaraz |first=Maysam |date=2011-05-01 |title=EDUCATIONALEducational APPLICATIONSApplications OFof PARTIALPartial RECONFIGURATIONReconfiguration OFof FPGASFPGAs|url=https://scholar.utc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1052&context=theses|journalpublisher=Thesis from University of Tennessee at Chattanooga}}</ref><ref name=":5">{{Cite book|last=Silva|first=Mário Marques da|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A6x-DwAAQBAJ&q=emona+tims&pg=PT23|title=Cable and Wireless Networks: Theory and Practice|date=2018-09-03|publisher=CRC Press|isbn=978-1-4987-5154-4|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Conference|first=American Society for Engineering Education|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vmRGAAAAYAAJ&q=emona+tims|title=ASEE Annual Conference Proceedings|date=2004|publisher=American Society for Engineering Education|language=en}}</ref>
TIMS uses a block diagram-based interface for experiments in the classroom. It can model mathematical equations to simulate electric signals, or it can use block diagrams to simulate telecommunications systems.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":3" /><ref name=":1">{{Cite journalbook|last=Breznik|first=Alfred|date=2004-10-01|title=TIMS-301 USER MANUAL|url=http://ecelabs.njit.edu/ece489/misc/tims301_user_manual.pdf|journalpublisher=Emona Instruments Pty Ltd}}</ref> It uses a different hardware card to represent functions for each block of the diagram.<ref>{{Cite journalthesis|type=Master's thesis|last=Purani|first=Abhilash M.|date=2010-04-23|title=ANAn EVALUATIONEvaluation OFof LOWLow COSTCost FPGA-BASEDBased SOFTWARESoftware DEFINEDDefined RADIOSRadios FORfor EDUCATIONEducation ANDand RESEARCHResearch|url=https://scholar.utc.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1509&context=theses|journalpublisher=A Thesis Presented for the Master of Science Degree the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga}}</ref>
TIMS consists of a server, a chassis, and boards that can emulate the configurations of a telecommunications system.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Sandoval|first=Jose R Santamaria|date=2020-04-01|title=Application of the EMONA TIMS platform for the Telecomunications Engineering career at UNED Costa Rica|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/349042618|journal=Engineering Education}}</ref> It uses electronic circuits as modules to simulate the components of [[Analog communication|analog]] and [[Digital Communications System|digital communications systems]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|last=Khan|first=Muhammad Ajmal|date=2018-06-01|title=Enhancing Students' Lab Experiences using Simulink-based Pre-Labsof Corresponding Hardware-based Labs|url=http://people.cst.cmich.edu/yelam1k/asee/proceedings/2018/1/69.pdf|journal=Proceedings of the 2018 ASEE North Central Section Conference}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journalthesis |type=Bachelor's thesis|last=Sakovičs|first=Ričards|date=2019|title=Digital-to-analog and Analog-to-digital Converter Operational Research|url=https://nda.rtu.lv/en/view/24448|journalpublisher=Riga Technical University Graduate Papers}}</ref> The modules can perform different functions such as signal generation, [[signal processing]], signal measurement, and [[digital signal processing]].<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":2" />
=== Variants ===
The block diagram approach to modeling the mathematics of a telecommunication system has also been ported across to other domains.<ref name=":4">{{Cite journalthesis|lasttype=JosefMaster's Bc.thesis|firstlast=Jeřábek|first=Josef|date=2008-11-02|title=Optimalizace telekomunikačního výukového prostředí|url=https://www.vutbr.cz/www_base/zav_prace_soubor_verejne.php?file_id=7588|journalpublisher=Vysoké učení technické v Brně}}</ref><ref name=":8">{{Cite journal|lastlast1=Veettil|firstfirst1=Binesh Puthen|last2=Payne|first2=David|last3=Bagnall|first3=Darren|last4=Cetin|first4=Ediz|date=2020-12-01|title=Quantifying and Improving Student Engagement with Remotely Accessible Laboratory Project Hardware (RALPH)|url=https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9368478|journal=2020 IEEE International Conference on Teaching, Assessment, and Learning for Engineering (TALE)|pages=714–718|doi=10.1109/TALE48869.2020.9368478|isbn=978-1-7281-6942-2|s2cid=229209526}}</ref>
