Design of web-based 3D control laboratory

In this paper, the design of a 3D web-based control laboratory is introduced. The new design is based on the framework of NCSLab (Networked Control System Laboratory). The 3D models of test rigs are designed in 3DS Max environment. Then, they are imported and rendered in Flash Control by using 3D engines. The Flash Controls can be easily embedded into the NCSLab web based user interface. Communication and Motion Control modules in these Flash Controls are also developed. These modules retrieve the real time data from the server through the AJAX Scripts running in the web browser and control the movements of the 3D models following the changes of the real time data. Therefore, these motions are synchronized with the real movement of the physical test rigs during the remote experiments. The users are allowed to change their perspectives using mousse, so they are able to “watch” the test rigs from different angles. In order to illustrate how the 3D remote laboratory works, an example of experiments on a dual tank test rig is given at the end of the paper.