Experiences with virtual environment and remote laboratory for teaching and learning robotics at the University of Alicante

Abstract

This paper begins with a description on the state of the art of robotics education in Spain. We then present our virtual environment and remote laboratory, whose principal component is RoboLab, a system that allows the student to interact with simulated and real robots through the Internet. Afterwards, we describe the main aspects of our Robotics courses at the University of Alicante, as well as the practical exercises carried out by students using the virtual laboratory. We then present an analysis of our experience of using the virtual and remote laboratory and give our conclusions, in which we analyze the advantages and disadvantages of using our virtual environment and remote laboratory to teach Robotics.