Programming logical controllers using remote labs and virtual reality

This paper presents a project which consisted in teaching how to program logic controllers (PLCs) in the laboratory practices of Logical Automatisms through the technology of remote laboratories at Tecnológico de Monterrey. It is an educational innovation that aims to develop basic programming skills of a PLC in which the students design the automation lines using different methods such as Karnaugh maps and Grafcet. The obtained results and algorithms can be simulated using different Virtual Reality Devices available in all campuses of the university. Once the correctness of the obtained designs is verified properly, they can be taken to the real remotely located equipments which are available by telecommunication technologies developed internally. In campus Tampico, for instance, the real PLC is connected to a scale elevator that is precisely controlled by the program developed by the student. The behavior of the elevator is monitored by a set of web cameras controlled by the user via the Internet. This teaching tool was very useful for “learning by doing”. Such remote laboratories had prove theirselfs as an excellent high performance and low-cost alternative comparing to the traditional ones.