Building a Microcontroller Virtual Lab Using Web-based and Mobile Agents Approaches
Saleh A. Al-Shehri, Mohammed Al-Oqeely · Journal of King Saud University - Computer and Information Sciences · 2002
Among the recent applications of Internet technology is virtual labs which enable users to conduct experiments from a distance. Most of the existing virtual lab applications fall into one of the following categories: lab simulators, telerobotic control, weather readings, database management, real-time video photo transferring and vending machines control. In all of these systems, the user either has a limited interaction with the remote system, or is forced to deal with simulators instead of real devices. In order to make the most benefit of remote experimenting, the user should have sufficient power over actual lab devices and equipment. Furthermore, the student should not worry about restrictions on access times or a failure of one of the lab equipment. In this paper we present the design and implementation of a computer engineering lab that applies both web and mobile agents technologies. The novel proposed mobile agents design offers flexibility and failure tolerance and overcomes some of the pitfalls of many existing virtual labs. Furthermore, the study concludes with a comparison and analysis of the proposed approaches.