Design and implementation of an interactive virtual control laboratory using haptic interface for undergraduate engineering students

ABSTRACT In most engineering courses, students need to experience the theoretical issues discussed in the classrooms to gain a deeper understanding. The high cost of laboratory equipment deprives many educational institutions of delivering quality education. Virtual laboratories can alleviate this problem substantially. Virtual laboratories with audiovisual and force feedback make the understanding and analysis of many engineering courses possible. This paper presents the design and implementation of an interactive virtual control laboratory (IVCL) for university students studying engineering at the undergraduate level. In this laboratory, six experimental setups are designed and for each setup, five to six scenarios are considered. Therefore, a considerable amount of the classical concepts in control course and a selection of advanced concepts such as impedance control and fuzzy control are covered. Statistical analysis for both experimental and control groups’ pre‐test and post‐test indicates the effectiveness of this interactive virtual laboratory. For example, the mean scores for the experimental group was 21% higher in comparison with the control group and 18% higher in comparison with their own pre‐test. Also, according to students’ responses to survey questions, a laboratory program is necessary for the control course and interactive virtual laboratory can compensate lack of a real laboratory. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Comput Appl Eng Educ 24:508–518, 2016; View this article online at wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/cae; DOI 10.1002/cae.21727