Web-based virtual laboratory for mechanical engineering

Web-based information technologies are being applied to create content-rich and flexible student laboratory environments in undergraduate mechanical engineering lecture and laboratory courses. In this paper, the characteristics of the web-based virtual mechanical laboratory and its implementation are introduced. The overall system architecture, hardware and software configuration, as well as the virtual experimental process, are presented. The key technologies such as system´s user interface design, 3D modeling, motion simulation and results assessment are discussed emphatically. The virtual laboratory offers tremendous flexibility by enabling the access to laboratory resources at any time and from anywhere without students having to be physically present in a laboratory facility.