ReImagine Lab: Bridging the Gap Between Hands-On, Virtual and Remote Control Engineering Laboratories Using Digital Twins and Extended Reality

Abstract

Practical work is one of the most important instructional tools in control engineering. To address concerns linked to the cost and space requirements of traditional hands-on laboratories, technology-enabled laboratory modes, such as virtual, remote, and take-home laboratory modes are proposed. Each of these alliterative laboratory modes has its own set of benefits and emphasizes a distinct learning goal. Furthermore, due to lockdown and physical proximity restrictions imposed by policies in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the employment of these alliterative laboratory modes has been quickly increasing. The laboratories' development, operation, and maintenance become more fragmented as a result of these many possibilities. In this study, we propose "ReImagine Lab" as a framework for leveraging digital twins and extended reality technologies to streamline the development and operation of hands-on, virtual, and distant laboratories. By increasing the level of interaction, immersion, and collaboration in technologyenabled laboratory forms, this framework intends to boost student engagement. The benefits of this framework are demonstrated by examining several use cases, and a 37-person "system usability study" is conducted to assess the usability of virtual laboratories employing desktop computers and immersive virtual reality.

Mapping Metaverse Research: Identifying Future Research Areas Based on Bibliometric and Topic Modeling Techniques

“…This cluster focuses on the intersection of immersive technologies, education, and the implications of the metaverse on the human experience [3,6,105]. This multifaceted concentration encompasses various dimensions, including the development and deployment of VR, AR, and MR technologies as well as the rise of XR as a unified framework [106,107]. The significance of virtual words and avatarbased platforms demonstrates the growing importance of creating and maintaining digital environments that foster collaboration and communication.…”

Virtual Assistance System for Teaching Physics Experiments in University Students

“…Education in the 21st century faces new competencies due to the constant changes that society has to García et al, [1], so that higher education centres have the need to train students with solid knowledge capable of sustaining various situations with natural behaviours that occur in society through Natural Sciences to López et al, [2]. Given this, there is a conventional method of teaching Natural Sciences, where the conceptual part stands out over the experimental part to Álvarez et al, [3], causing the non-validation of previous hypotheses that are developed in subsequent concepts to Roda [4], which are accessed through observations and experiences, preventing the student implements the experimental practices that would consolidate their knowledge in the proposed investigation to Kerem et al, [5].…”

Remote accessible/fully controllable fiber optic systems laboratory design and implementation

“…This situation also has a significant effect on the increase in the number of virtual laboratory studies. Furthermore, it is possible to obtain realistic results with simulations made in virtual environments owing to technological developments [3,12,13,19,18,21,30].…”

“…Therefore, the duration of students' laboratory use is limited to courses and practice hours. Therefore, the definition of a remote access laboratory has emerged, and the number of studies has increased [1,3,9,10,12,13,17,19,18,20,21,27,28,29,30,31]. When the studies are compared in terms of software, it is seen that the systems are provided over the interface program through designs where different software languages such as MATLAB, Visual Basic, C, C++, C#, Python, and Fortran are preferred [9,19,29].…”

“…When the studies conducted in remote access laboratories are evaluated in terms of Internet access, there are studies in which devices are remotely controlled by integrating the written interfaces with the software that prioritizes visuality with HTML, ASP, and PHP infrastructure rather than controlling interfaces with remote desktop programs. Moreover, in some studies, it is seen that a webcam is used to monitor the result information live [3,12,13,19,18,21,30].…”