Use of Cranes in Education and International Collaborations

This paper describes the use of cranes in system dynamics and control courses and international collaboration. Four different cranes designed and built for educational purposes are presented, and the curriculum developed to use the cranes is summarized. The cranes can be operated remotely from anywhere in the world via the Internet. This feature facilitates both educational activities and research collaboration. Example use of cranes in international collaboration and undergraduate research are described. The paper concludes with a discussion of key challenges and a program assessment.