Low-Cost Digital-Twin VR Teleoperation of a 3D-Printed Robotic Arm for STEM Education

The integration of Virtual Reality (VR) with robotic systems offers opportunities for enhancing STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education. This paper presents the design, implementation, and evaluation of a low-cost teleoperation system for a 3D-printed robotic arm, specifically tailored for educational applications. The system uniquely combines VR for intuitive control, a real-time digital twin for system visualization and understanding, and accessible open-source hardware. Utilizing a Meta Quest 2 headset, the Unity 3D engine, an Arduino MEGA 2560 -based InMoov robotic arm, and a wireless communication architecture via an ESP32 module and UDP/IP, we demonstrate that this platform can be used for educational purposes. Experimental results validate the system’s effectiveness in providing an engaging, hands-on platform for students to explore concepts in robotics, programming, kinematics, and cyber-physical systems with an average operational latency of $\sim 700 \mathrm{~ms}$. The complete robotic arm materi-als-excluding the assembly-can be reproduced for under € 400, greatly lowering the barrier for adoption in resource-constrained classrooms. This work underscores the potential of affordable VRrobotic digital twin systems to democratize access to advanced technological learning experiences in STEM.