An Internet based laboratory for control education

Abstract

The paper presents experiences in the development of remote laboratories at the Universities of Ancona and Lecce in Italy, aimed at supporting institutional education. The remote laboratories provide remote access to a number of "virtual rooms" (containing physical processes) by a commercial Web browser. Different processes are connected to the remote laboratories: a fan and plate process, a robot manipulator, a tank process and a toy-helicopter. Students can use the laboratory for process identification and control, and experimental data files can be downloaded for further local processing. Software and hardware solutions used in the design of the remote laboratories are presented. The integration of the traditional classroom lectures with the experimental training is also discussed.