This paper deals with remote access to a real laboratory equipment using contemporary computer and network technology for creating the environment that will enable a remote user to perform the required laboratory exercises and control the laboratory equipment. Architecture and characteristics of WebLab will be described with special attention to the latest implemented laboratory experiment for control of the coupled water tanks (using LabVIEW). This paper will also give results of researches among student population in order to determine advantages and effects of using web laboratory in control engineering education.

Laboratory experiments and practical work by their nature are unavoidable, important, and costly in the engineering education environment. The web laboratory is an educational tool for teaching students the basic principles and methodology in performing a series of experiments on different equipment at any time and from any location through the Internet. In this paper, pre-requests, architecture, and software realization of the Web Laboratory at University of Kragujevac are presented. Organization, development, goals, and possible demands of the laboratory exercise: The inverted pendulum/gantry crane controls (with the capability to test different control algorithms) are also discussed. The applications of the web lab have been tested with the students enrolled at University of Kragujevac and the initial educational results of the implementation of this laboratory exercise are presented. ß

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This paper studies the closed-loop control of an electromagnetic vibratory feeder (EVF). Two different linear design procedures have been employed: a conventional proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller, and a model predictive control (MPC) controller. All derived results have been validated by computer simulation of a nonlinear mathematical model of the system. The results have proved that both controllers achieve a good tracking of the desired output in a selected operating point. In comparison to the PID controller, the MPC controller is more sensitive to disturbances in the form of changes in the mass of material being transported

In engineering education, it is very important to provide solid knowledge and practice to students in order to deal with architectures, mechanisms, and algorithms for the control of processes. In this article we will present the concept, detailed technical requirements, description, implementation, and verification of a process (thermal) trainer. In addition three possible educational tasks will be presented with a developed software infrastructure for the remote control of a laboratory set-up via the Internet.