Development of a Modularized Architecture for Remote-access Laboratories
Aziz, E.-S., Wang, Z., Esche, S. K. & Chassapis, C.
Proceedings of the 2011 ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, June 26 - 29, 2011.
Abstract
Conducting hands-on experiments in undergraduate laboratory courses with large student enrollment imposes significant strains on the fiscal, spatial and personnel resources of the educational institutions.
In response to the need for developing laboratory resources that provide a practical experience to large engineering classes, remotely shared experimental facilities have emerged as one innovative solution for educational laboratories with reduced resource needs.
Recent research shows that a significant number of remotely-accessible experiments have been deployed globally across many of the major engineering disciplines around the world.
Several software architectures and technologies for remote laboratories have been proposed and implemented over the last years.
Organizations usually choose and adopt one solution based on their needs, previous experience, available software and software development tools as well as the skills and expertise of the developers.
Each solution has its advantages and disadvantages.
In this context, there is an increasing need for a unified method for developing and presenting such remote-access laboratory resources in order to allow potential users to easily and efficiently use them.
The aim of this paper is to present a modularized and scalable system architecture for remote experimentation, which enables the interaction of multiple users with a network of spatially distributed experimental devices.
Furthermore, this paper describes the functionality available in the current version of the remote-access laboratory that enables students to run a wide range of experiments on this platform.
As an example, the implementation and some experimental results for a remotely accessible wind tunnel are presented, including detailed descriptions of the techniques employed for linking the different functional modules implemented as LabVIEW scripts to an online laboratory system.
This modularized remote laboratory system was designed based on a client-server structure.
The wind tunnel setup enables the students to explore various fluid flow phenomena, such as the external air flow around an airfoil and a golf ball.