Remote laboratories

Remote labs can be defined as physical laboratory apparatus (rigs) that can be accessed and controlled via the internet. Students are able to interact with the ‘rig’, from any computer connected to the internet through interface applications that allow them to manipulate the equipment, monitor the process and receive the results of the experiment for analysis. In many cases remote laboratories can be made available 24/7 with minimal requirements for maintenance or staff intervention.

Remote labs are intended to complement the hands-on laboratory experience by providing access to a greater number of laboratories, and more opportunity to run and re-run experiments at a time and from a location that is convenient for the student.

In 2007 RMIT implemented a Characterization of Synchronous Power Generation remote experiment utilizing the interactive iLab architecture which was developed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). This remote lab has been used by hundreds of onshore Electrical Engineering students over the past 4 years and has been well received by both students and staff. In 2011, access has been extended to students in Hong Kong with positive results, and further extension to other cohorts will be identified and implemented.

Remote laboratories offer great potential benefit in education and research. This has been recognised by DEEWR who funded the ATN consortium, led by UTS, to undertake a project to study the development and sharing of remote laboratories, nationally. As an active partner, RMIT developed another experiment, the “TRUSS”, and successfully conducted sharing trials with other Australian universities.

Recognising the benefits of remote laboratories, seed funding has been made available to develop more laboratories at RMIT which will be released throughout 2011.

As one of the leading institutions taking a strategic approach with remote laboratories, nationally and internationally, RMIT is also one of the founding members of the Global Online Laboratory Consortium. Information about the Consortium can be found at http://online-lab.org/