Remote laboratory
Encyclopedia
.
Remote laboratory is the use of telecommunications to remotely conduct real
(as opposed to virtual
) experiments, at the physical
location
of the operating technology, whilst the scientist
is utilizing technology
from a separate geographical location.
:
Researchers from the Labshare
describe the advantages as being:
The technology can be integrated into Moodle
. This allows for economies of scale
production.
The general disadvantages compared to a proximal (hands on) laboratory are:
Remote laboratory is the use of telecommunications to remotely conduct real
Real
Real may also refer to:* Reality, the state of things as they actually exist, rather than as they may appear or may be thought to be.-Finance:* Inflation adjusted amountsCurrencies:* Brazilian realFormer currencies:* Mexican real* Portuguese real...
(as opposed to virtual
Virtual
The term virtual is a concept applied in many fields with somewhat differing connotations, and also, differing denotations.The term has been defined in philosophy as "that which is not real" but may display the salient qualities of the real....
) experiments, at the physical
Physical
Physical may refer to:*Body, the physical structure of an organism**Human body, the physical structure of a human*Physical abuse, abuse involving contact intended to cause feelings of intimidation, injury, or other physical suffering or bodily harm...
location
Location (geography)
The terms location and place in geography are used to identify a point or an area on the Earth's surface or elsewhere. The term 'location' generally implies a higher degree of can certainty than "place" which often has an ambiguous boundary relying more on human/social attributes of place identity...
of the operating technology, whilst the scientist
Scientist
A scientist in a broad sense is one engaging in a systematic activity to acquire knowledge. In a more restricted sense, a scientist is an individual who uses the scientific method. The person may be an expert in one or more areas of science. This article focuses on the more restricted use of the word...
is utilizing technology
Technology
Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...
from a separate geographical location.
Benefits
The benefits of remote laboratories are predominantly in engineering educationEngineering education
Engineering education is the activity of teaching knowledge and principles related to the professional practice of engineering. It includes the initial education for becoming an engineer and any advanced education and specialization that follow...
:
- Relax time constraints, adapting to pace of each student, if there was insufficient time in lab
- Relax geographical constraints, disregarding the physical locality of the student
- Economies of scale, as sharing labs allows sharing of large fixed costs of traditional buildings
- Improve quality of experiment, as it can be repeated to clarify doubtful measurements in lab
- Improve effectiveness, as student may improve effectiveness of time spent at lab by rehearsal
- Improved safety and security, as no risk of catastrophic failure
Researchers from the Labshare
Labshare
Labshare consortium is a laboratory sharing initiative established by the Federal Commonwealth of Australia Government's Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations by their Diversity and Structural Adjustment Fund awarded the five Australian Technology Network Universities:...
describe the advantages as being:
- Increasing accessibility to laboratories by a factor of 4 within 3 years, since current lab utilization is less than 10%
- Decrease fixedFixedFixed may refer to:* Fixed , EP by Nine Inch Nails* Fixed , a collection of monospace bitmap fonts that is distributed with the X Window System* Fixed, subjected to neutering...
and variableVariableVariable may refer to:* Variable , a logical set of attributes* Variable , a symbol that represents a quantity in an algebraic expression....
expenditure by 50%, since faculty budget spends between 15-40% on lab infrastructure and personnel, around $400m per year - Improve learning objectives and outcomes to support better learning
- Enhance sharing of knowledge, expertise and experience
- Reduce start-up costs of laboratories
The technology can be integrated into Moodle
Moodle
Moodle is a free source e-learning software platform, also known as a Course Management System, Learning Management System, or Virtual Learning Environment...
. This allows for economies of scale
Economies of scale
Economies of scale, in microeconomics, refers to the cost advantages that an enterprise obtains due to expansion. There are factors that cause a producer’s average cost per unit to fall as the scale of output is increased. "Economies of scale" is a long run concept and refers to reductions in unit...
production.
Disadvantages
The disadvantages differ depending on the type of remote laboratory and the topic area.The general disadvantages compared to a proximal (hands on) laboratory are:
- Lack of hands on trouble shooting and debugging experience.
- Lack of equipment setup experience.
Future direction
Current system capabilities include:- Online session booking, utilizing a databaseDatabaseA database is an organized collection of data for one or more purposes, usually in digital form. The data are typically organized to model relevant aspects of reality , in a way that supports processes requiring this information...
and online interface - Authentication to satisfy securitySecuritySecurity is the degree of protection against danger, damage, loss, and crime. Security as a form of protection are structures and processes that provide or improve security as a condition. The Institute for Security and Open Methodologies in the OSSTMM 3 defines security as "a form of protection...
requirements - Desktop, generalized screen for chatOnline chatOnline chat may refer to any kind of communication over the Internet, that offers an instantaneous transmission of text-based messages from sender to receiver, hence the delay for visual access to the sent message shall not hamper the flow of communications in any of the directions...
, emoticonEmoticonAn emoticon is a facial expression pictorially represented by punctuation and letters, usually to express a writer’s mood. Emoticons are often used to alert a responder to the tenor or temper of a statement, and can change and improve interpretation of plain text. The word is a portmanteau word...
, timeTimeTime is a part of the measuring system used to sequence events, to compare the durations of events and the intervals between them, and to quantify rates of change such as the motions of objects....
limit, bandwidthBandwidth (computing)In computer networking and computer science, bandwidth, network bandwidth, data bandwidth, or digital bandwidth is a measure of available or consumed data communication resources expressed in bits/second or multiples of it .Note that in textbooks on wireless communications, modem data transmission,...
limit - Live lab cameraCameraA camera is a device that records and stores images. These images may be still photographs or moving images such as videos or movies. The term camera comes from the camera obscura , an early mechanism for projecting images...
which allows panning, tilting, zooming, showing, hiding, refresh - Circuit builder (this is just simulative)
- Function generator (this is just simulative)
- Digital multimeter (this is just simulative)
- Oscilloscope (this is just simulative)
External links
- Netlab from the University of South AustraliaUniversity of South AustraliaThe University of South Australia is a public university in the Australian state of South Australia. It was formed in 1991 with the merger of the South Australian Institute of Technology and Colleges of Advanced Education. It is the largest university in South Australia, with more than 36,000...
- Labshare
- MIT iCampus iLabs from Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyThe Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
and wiki - Remote Labs from the University of Technology Sydney
- Remotely controlled lab from the Palacký University of Olomouc
- iLabs from the University of QueenslandUniversity of QueenslandThe University of Queensland, also known as UQ, is a public university located in state of Queensland, Australia. Founded in 1909, it is the oldest and largest university in Queensland and the fifth oldest in the nation...
- iSES internet School Experiment System
- LiLa project - Library of Labs
- Online-Lab, Carinthia
- UWA Telerobot
- WebLab, University of Deusto
- iLough-Lab, University of Loughborough
- Remote Engineering and Virtual Instrumentation
- International Journal of Online Engineering
- Remote Operation of Engineering Labs - University of Tennessee at Chattanooga