Virtual labs battery and ultracapacitor characterization

Virtual labs help students and professionals to learn subjects practically. Remote triggered virtual labs, in which real hardware is remotely controlled is especially well suited for students who do not have access to high quality, modern, and often expensive lab equipment. It also allows to students to conduct laboratory experiments on their own time and repeat them as often and when necessary. In this paper, we have implemented Energy Storage studies in (batteries and ultra(super)capacitors at the collegiate level through remote triggered virtual labs. The hardware and software system allows the user to study the charge and discharge characteristics of different types of batteries and ultracapacitors. This will create interest for students and professionals to study more on batteries and ultracapacitors and emerge with new ideas on energy storage. In this work, we compare two hardware setups, one made from scratch with low-cost components and the other created using professional, research grade components. The paper focuses on the design, implementation, control system, measurement, communication protocols and integration with the internet for these two testing setups using Labview.