Framework for Rapid Integration of Offline Experiments into Remote Laboratory

Abstract

Remote laboratory (RL) has become an important component of online education and smart factory due to its capability of remote operation and cost-saving. Recent advantages of information technology have provided various ways to develop RLs. However, how to rapidly bring an offline experiment online is still a vital issue in the development of RL.  In this paper, a new flexible framework based on social instant messaging (IM) application architecture is proposed for integrating an offline remote experiment into RL rapidly as a communication node with unique ID. To rapidly connect the LabVIEW controlled devices to server, a new LtoN_UID (LabVIEW to Node.js with Unique ID) module built on Socket.IO protocol is designed and implemented. To demonstrate the effectiveness of this new flexible framework, two existing engineering experiments, i.e., a Smart Vibration Platform (SVP) experiment and a PID motor speed control experiment, are integrated into remote laboratory.