Remote laboratory sessions provides new opportunities for students
14 Apr 2021
University West’s teachers in technology have developed new methods in order to be able to carry out laboratory sessions from home. They can now be held digitally, just like other regular education. This has earlier been a challenge, but the pandemic has accelerated the development. This is part of a long-term investment since the university's goal is to make all longer educational programmes available for distance learning.
David Simonsson, research engineer at University West explains how it will work:
- The idea is that students will log on via a remote computer solution to do different laboratory sessions. That computer is connected to the IoT (Internet-of-Things) network that we have created at the Production Technology Center (PTC) where we have our laboratory equipment.
The PTC is a world-class laboratory and the centre for the university's research environment Production Technology West (PTW). Among other things, research in flexible industrial automation is conducted there, together with industry. At the PTC students get the opportunity to participate in the latest research and the opportunity to get in touch with future employers. There are many companies linked to the PTC and PTW and all research is conducted in close collaboration with business.
David continues:
- Via the remote computer solution, you can log in through the web browser on our robot AMR (Autonomus Mobile Robot). You can then, in real time, control the robot and see it through an IP camera. This will take place in a secluded part of the PTC for safety reasons.
See how the robot is controlled remotely:
How far have you come and what remains to be done?
- We have successfully tested connecting the AMR and the IoT network. We have tested all systems and hardware separately and they work, now we need to create a student version that is easy to use. The physical installations will take place this autumn.
Which programs are influenced by working remotely like this?
- Mainly the 2-year Master in Robotics and Automation. I also can imagine that the students studying computer science could be interested in this since there are many programming possibilities in Python, David Simonsson concludes.
More about Master in Robotics and Automation
If you have any questions, feel free to contact David Simonsson, research engineer at University West
Phone: 0046701039854
Email: david.simonsson@hv.se