Educational platform for the development of projects using Internet of Things

Internet of things (IoT) is key in the ecosystem called Industry 4.0, where the upcoming engineers will thrive. Therefore, it is important to develop the appropriate skills that current students need in such context. This paper will present an educational platform focused on learning the Internet of things. This platform has the versatility to be used in different courses, in which digital technology or prototypes including IoT are developed. Moreover, the platform allows experiencing different learning spaces in a fast, efficient, and affordable way. The platform is called "IoT Maker Lab" and it has the minimum needed elements that an IoT application requires. Two kind of experimentations were developed with this platform, in the first ones the IoT was transversally added to the course activities. In the second ones, the Internet of things was a fundamental part of prototypes that give a solution to current problems. Analyzing the results from the experiments, it is clear that the "IoT Maker Lab" can be used in many mechatronics engineering courses. It can be used from freshmen to seniors in the undergraduate mechatronics program. It can be implemented in systems that are either simple or complex. Additionally, the platform motivates and provides knowledge to the students.