Networked control systems distance learning: state of art, tendencies and a new fieldbus remote laboratory proposal

Due to the increasing presence of the Internet in the academic and residential environment, the literature shows an increasing number of experiments of distance learning in the automation and industrial control area in the last decade, in which theoretical procedures as well as practical lessons, can be carried through remote access. In this context, this article presents a brief survey on the academic experiments in the application of on-line laboratories and introduces a new proposal of remote access architecture based on FOUNDATION fieldbus protocol using a simulated environment.