Remotely Operated Laboratory for Undergraduate Engineering Courses in Control and Dynamic Systems

University Of Alabama In Huntsville, Huntsville AL

Investigators

Abstract

Engineering - Mechanical (56) This project is developing a remotely operated laboratory which allows students to initiate, conduct and conclude control and dynamic systems laboratory exercises involving physical hardware. Using a computer interface, they can receive visual and auditory sensory feedback and obtain and respond to experimental data, just as they would if they were physically present in the laboratory with the equipment. In this project, the student uses facilities which would otherwise be inaccessible for reasons of safety, time or environmental constraints, without requiring a laboratory monitor or physical access. Students can also schedule and conduct laboratory exercises without requiring a lab monitor or physical access, remotely use expensive or unique equipment, and collaborate in real-time with remote co-experimenters. Recent technological advances in networking, real-time control, data transfer, and graphical-user-interfacing have made a cost-effective remote laboratory possible. The remotely operated laboratory is being developed for "hardware in the loop" control of ten physical domain systems. There are three interdependent and interdisciplinary facilities: a Design and Simulation Facility and Basic- and Advanced- "hardware in the loop" Facilities. Laboratory development, methodologies, procedures and a sample curriculum are being documented and disseminated. The educational use of feedback laboratory equipment is adapted from several institutions, amongst which are the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, SUNY-Buffalo, and Tennessee State University. The use of feedback equipment with MATLAB applications is also adapted from several institutions, amongst which are Auburn University, Boston University, and City College.