Development of a Remote Laboratory for Engineering Education

119 Pages·2020·3.813 MB·\119

by  Ning Wang (Author), Qianlong Lan (Author), Xuemin Chen (Author), Gangbing Song (Author), Hamid Parsaei (Author)

Development of a
Remote Laboratory for
Engineering Education
Technology Guides: Advancing
Capacity Building in Contemporary
Organizations
Series Editors:
Hamid Parsaei – Professor of Industrial and Systems
Engineering at Texas A&M University (TAMU),
Mohamed Y. Ismail – Senior IT Consultant,
Texas A&M University at Qatar (TAMUQ), and
Boback Parsaei – Senior Engineering Consultant,
Integrated Technology Systems, Inc., Texas
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Development of a Remote Laboratory for Engineering
Education
Ning Wang, Qianlong Lan, Xuemin Chen, Gangbing Song, and
Hamid Parsaei
For more information on this series, please visit: https://www.
crcpress.com/%20Technology-Guides-Advancing-Capacity-
Building-in-Contemporary-Organizations/book-series/%20
CRCTECADVCA
Development of a
Remote Laboratory for
Engineering Education
Ning Wang, Qianlong Lan, Xuemin Chen,
Gangbing Song, and Hamid Parsaei
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Library of Congress Cataloging‑in‑Publication Data
Names: Wang, Ning (Research scientist), author.
Title: Development of a remote laboratory for engineering education / Ning
Wang, Qianlong Lan, Xuemin Chen, Gangbing Song, and Hamid Parsaei.
Description: Boca Raton, FL : CRC Press, [2020] | Series: Technology
guides. Advancing capacity building in contemporary organizations |
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2019055183 (print) | LCCN 2019055184 (ebook) |
ISBN 9780367334413 (hardback) | ISBN 9780429326455 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Engineering experiment stations. | Engineering—Study
and teaching. | Distance education.
Classification: LCC TA416 .W36 2020 (print) | LCC TA416 (ebook) |
DDC 620.0071/1—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019055183
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019055184
ISBN: 978-0-367-33441-3 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-429-32645-5 (ebk)
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CONTENTS
Preface ix
Author Biographies xi
Introduction xv
1 Introduction of Remote Laboratory Technology 1
1.1 I ntroduction 1
1.2 Current Status of the RL Technology 3
1.3 The Development of RL Systems 6
1.3.1 Cloud Computing Technology for RL
Systems’ Implementation 8
1.3.2 Mobile RL Applications Development 11
1.3.3 Social Computing Technology for RL
System Implementation 15
2 A Novel Flexible Framework for Rapidly Integrating
Offline Experiment into Remote Laboratory System 18
2.1 I ntroduction 18
2.2 M ethodology 20
2.2.1 Social IM Application Architecture 20
2.2.2 Node.js Web Engine 21
2.2.3 Data Transmission Protocol Selection 22
2.3 The Design of the Novel Flexible Framework 24
2.3.1 Client Web Module 24
2.3.2 Server Module 25
2.3.3 The New-Version LtoN Protocol 25
2.4 Summary 26
v
vi Contents
3 Cloud-Based RLaaS-Frame Framework for Rapid
Deployment of Remote Laboratory Systems 28
3.1 I ntroduction 28
3.2 RLaaS-Frame Architecture 29
3.2.1 Experimental Application as a Service
(EAaaS) Layer 30
3.2.2 Experimental Development Framework
and Running Environment as a Service
(EFEaaS) Layer 30
3.2.3 Basic Experimental Resources as a
Service (BERaaS) Layer 31
3.2.4 Characteristic of the RLaaS-Frame 32
3.3 The Reference Deployment Process of the
RLaaS-Frame 33
3.3.1 A pplication Service 33
3.3.2 Platform and Framework Service 34
3.3.3 Resource Aggregation Service 35
3.3.4 Detail Reference Deployment Process 35
3.4 S ummary 37
4 A Novel Mobile-Optimized Remote Laboratory
Application Architecture 38
4.1 I ntroduction 38
4.2 Novel Mobile-Optimized Application Architecture 39
4.2.1 Mobile-Optimized Application Layer 39
4.2.2 Unified Framework Layer 41
4.2.3 Characteristics of the New Mobile-
Optimized Application Architecture 42
4.3 Summary 42
5 A Novel Online Programmable Platform for Remote
Programmable Control Experiment Development 44
5.1 I ntroduction 44
5.1.1 Programmable Logic Controllers for
Experimental Device Control 45
5.1.2 Software in Workstation for
Experimental Device Control 46
5.1.3 S erver-Based Programmable
Environment for Experimental
Equipment Control 47
5.2 Online Programmable Experiment Platform
Architecture 47
5.2.1 UI Layer 48
5.2.2 Platform Kernel Layer 49
5.2.3 System Layer 50
Contents vii
5.2.4 Advantages of the Novel Online
Programmable Experiment Platform 50
5.3 S ummary 51
6 Wiki-Based Remote Laboratory Platform for
Engineering Education 52
6.1 Introduction 52
6.2 Wiki-Based RL System Architecture 53
6.2.1 Client Layer 55
6.2.2 Platform Layer 55
6.2.3 Database Layer 57
6.3 The Implementation Process of the Wiki-Based
RL Platform 57
6.4 S ummary 59
7 Case Studies 60
7.1 Introduction 60
7.2 A Remote Shape Memory Alloy (SMA) Experiment 60
7.2.1 Methodology 61
7.2.2 Experimental Implementation 63
7.2.2.1 Hardware Setup 63
7.2.2.2 Software Implementation 64
7.2.3 Results and Discussion 66
7.3 A Remote Proportional–Derivative–Integral (PID)
Motor Speed Control Experiment 66
7.3.1 Methodology 66
7.3.2 E xperimental Implementation 67
7.3.2.1 H ardware Setup 67
7.3.2.2 Software Implementation 68
7.3.3 Results and Discussion 69
7.4 A Programmable Remote Robot Control Experiment 71
7.4.1 Methodology 71
7.4.2 Experimental Implementation 72
7.4.2.1 H ardware Setup 72
7.4.2.2 Software Implementation 73
7.4.3 Results and Discussion 74
7.5 Summary 75
8 Conclusions and Future Works 76
8.1 Conclusions 76
8.2 Future Works 77
References 79
Index 95
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PREFACE
With the rapid development of Internet of Things (IoT) technology,
remote laboratory (RL) technology has been widely used to develop
remotely accessible networked equipment for engineering educa-
tion, scientific research, and industrial applications. As a pillar of
online education and scientific research, RL technology has made
great progress. An RL system essentially consists of a set of physical
experiment equipment linked to the Internet, and users can access
and interact with this system through an Internet connection. RL
systems eliminate the geographical constraints of conducting experi-
ments, making them a highly effective tool in helping a wide range of
users obtain practical experiences needed for competency in science
and engineering.
The primary objective of this book is to present a complete guide
to the development of an innovative advanced RL technology and
address commonly encountered issues among current research and
applications in this area. To this end, a new unified framework that
focuses on integrating existing offline laboratory experiments under
the control of global and local scheduler web servers via Internet is
designed and developed in this book. With this novel framework, RL
systems can provide an efficient and reliable way for resource sharing
in education, scientific research, and industry.
The book is comprised of seven chapters discussed in further
detail below. Chapter 1 reviews current RL technology literature.
Chapter 2 introduces a new flexible framework for rapid integration
of existing offline experiments into RL systems. This framework
offers the ability to customize remote experiments for engineering
education, research, or industrial applications. Chapter 3 presents an
ix