Online Virtual Control Laboratory of Mobile Robots

Abstract In STEM subjects, interactive laboratories are one of the most widely used tools for students to acquire practical knowledge. These laboratories allow them to modify system parameters and analyze the outputs in real time. In control engineering, these laboratories include different predefined controllers with which the student must experiment to study their operation. However, these laboratories usually do not include functions that allow students themselves to create their own controller. This work presents an interactive virtual laboratory to control mobile robots developed in JavaScript. Mobile robots are an attractive platform for students where they can analyze, test and understand fundamental concepts that are difficult to explain from a theoretical point of view. This environment allows the student to generate their own experiments (general statements, controllers, steps to follow over time) and test them with the simulator. For example, they can design their own position controllers and they can compare different PID-type control strategies in real time. Besides, this environment is open and configurable, so the teacher can decide the available features for each experiment depending of the learning goals.