VIRTUAL TRAINING LAB (TLAB): TELEPRESENCE EMPOWERED REMOTE LAB

Abstract

Rapid growth of telepresence technology led to the creation of Telepresence Robot Empowered Smart Lab (TRESL) to overcome the challenges in distance education, lab and field work. This research created a similar setup (virtual and physical laboratory) over the broadband internet, tested numerous scenarios including dispersed and centralized system and discovered logistical challenges with performance, network connectivity and user training for controlling the equipment. Collected data showed the potential downsides of broadband connection, last mile problem occurred due the shared bandwidth among local consumers also, it was observed that user training is required to manipulate controls from a remote location. This research highlights the question of operational reliability of internet connection for telepresence technology specifically for laboratories which often requires machine-like point to point accuracy. It is recommended to explore technologies like Direct Internet Access (DIA) and suggested optimization of virtual device (digital twin) for increasing the performance and reliability.