VirtLAB-UI: An Open, Platform Independent, Software and Firmware Solution for Remote and Take-Home Labs

SARS-CoV2 pandemic pushed university courses toward remote access. Besides classroom lessons, for which IT solutions were already present, laboratory experiences required the development of suitable replacements. For electronics engineering courses, several solutions have been developed, mainly based on computer simulations, or simplified lab kits distributed to students to perform laboratory experiences at home. But if the hardware tools developed to mimic lab experiments are intended to eventually replace classic experiences, a similar visual user experience must be implemented, as well, with user interfaces similar to what is available on real measurements instruments, independent from the physical devices used. In this paper, a suitable approach for the development of such an interface is described, with an example application to an existing take-home lab system.