Remote Laboratories for Teaching and Training in Engineering

Abstract

Typical mechatronic systems are a combination of advanced technologies involving several disciplines. This multidisciplinary approach to the development of industrial applications provides great opportunities for the implementation of e-learning environments and collaborative schemes. Engineering education, in particular, benefits from many of these advances, among which, virtual instrumentation is a useful tool for the development of virtual environments, e-learning spaces and, particularly, remote laboratories. This chapter describes the implementation of web-based laboratories that allow the remote operation of experiments used as training exercises in undergraduate engineering courses. The remote laboratories were developed using LabVIEW ® software, and they enable remote control and monitoring of laboratory equipment, allowing engineering students to perform experiments in real time, at their own pace, from anywhere, and whenever is suitable for them. Besides the experimental training that the web-based laboratories provide to students, the system is also a powerful teaching tool since real-time demonstrations of the experiments can be performed, and they also can be simultaneously monitored by a group of students. This approach is highly beneficial for engineering schools in developing countries, as resources can be shared through the Internet. A description of the system and three proposed experiments is presented, together with the experimental results.

Remote practicals in the time of coronavirus, a multidisciplinary approach

“…A group from Mexico and the UK have created a series of remote mechatronics and electrical laboratories, which can be both be controlled and data acquired remotely, using LabVIEW software via a webserver. 8 The work reported on three laboratories: an electropneumatic system, control of AC motors and residential wiring circuits. A small study of student feedback reported that students like the interface and can follow the experiments while lectures are being conducted.…”

Remote Practicals in the Time of Coronavirus, a Multidisciplinary Approach

“…A group from Mexico and the UK have created a series of remote mechatronics and electrical laboratories, which can be controlled with data acquired remotely, using LabVIEW software via a webserver 8 . The work reported on three laboratories: an electropneumatic system, control of AC motors and residential wiring circuits.…”

Perspective Chapter: Development of Mass Online Courses that Include Practical Work Based on the Home Laboratory

“…The subject of the study was the technology of organizing practical work of students at home, as access to special equipment was significantly limited, and virtual laboratory work does not give a complete immersion in the subject area of practiceoriented courses. At the same time, it should be noted that there are a large number of works on the creation of technologies for remote control of research equipment [1][2][3], as well as on virtual twins of products, processes, and technologies [4][5][6]. In spite of this, all the mentioned technologies do not allow students to get practical skills by working with their own hands taking into account the peculiarities of real equipment operation, conducting experiments, etc.…”