Mechatronics and Control education is supported by laboratory 
intensive assignments that allow students acquire software 
and hardware skills to solve real world problems. However, 
COVID-19 force many schools to switch into remote learning 
complicating the instruction of practical assignments. This 
paper presents a novel proposal for interactive remote teaching 
of the laboratory component of the course ME-142: Mechatronics 
at University of California, Merced using Digital Twins and 
the flipped classroom methodology. Each lab experience is composed 
by a set of on-demand supporting materials with the foundations 
of Mechatronics simulation using Matlab/Simulink to 
enhance and flexibilize the learning experience of the students. 
Once the students acquire advanced simulation skills, a set of 
Digital Twin models are provided to the students in order to begin 
their interaction with virtual representations of real systems for 
identification, analysis, controller design and validation, which 
are available online for remote access. By the end of the course, 
students will be able not only to gain valuable experience with 
Mechatronic systems but also interact and build advanced modelling 
techniques as Digital Twin, contributing to compensate the 
lack of remote hardware interaction.&nbsp;Mechatronics and Control education is supported by laboratory 
intensive assignments that allow students acquire software 
and hardware skills to solve real world problems. However, 
COVID-19 force many schools to switch into remote learning 
complicating the instruction of practical assignments. This 
paper presents a novel proposal for interactive remote teaching 
of the laboratory component of the course ME-142: Mechatronics 
at University of California, Merced using Digital Twins and 
the flipped classroom methodology. Each lab experience is composed 
by a set of on-demand supporting materials with the foundations 
of Mechatronics simulation using Matlab/Simulink to 
enhance and flexibilize the learning experience of the students. 
Once the students acquire advanced simulation skills, a set of 
Digital Twin models are provided to the students in order to begin 
their interaction with virtual representations of real systems for 
identification, analysis, controller design and validation, which 
are available online for remote access. By the end of the course, 
students will be able not only to gain valuable experience with 
Mechatronic systems but also interact and build advanced modelling 
techniques as Digital Twin, contributing to compensate the 
lack of remote hardware interaction.

Digital Twin Based Interactive Mechatronics Lab Development for Remote Lab Offering and Evaluation

Paper Proceedings: https://asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/IDETC-CIE/IDETC-CIE2021/volume/85369

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