Visualisation, simulation and control of a robotic system using Internet technology

The increased accessibility to the Internet has been successfully exploited by many universities to provide wider access to online learning resources. However, a typical problem facing engineering based applications is the lack of real world laboratory equipment, i.e. robotic manipulators, servo systems, etc., with which students can work with in order to acquire valuable practical "hands on" experience. This paper presents a virtual robotics and control laboratory, MuMaTE, which is being developed to study the design issues involved in providing remote users with Internet access to laboratory based hardware. Simulation tools for the robotic hardware utilise a desktop virtual reality environment to improve the visualisation of the manipulator hardware and associated workspace. The development of the project web server, interface electronics and control software is also discussed.