This volume investigates a number of issues needed to develop a modular, effective, versatile, cost effective, pedagogically-embedded, user-friendly, and sustainable online laboratory system that can deliver its true potential in the national and global arenas. This allows individual researchers to develop their own modular systems with a level of creativity and innovation while at the same time ensuring continuing growth by separating the responsibility for creating online laboratories from the responsibility for overseeing the students who use them. The volume first introduces the reader to several system architectures that have proven successful in many online laboratory settings. The following chapters then describe real-life experiences in the area of online laboratories from both technological and educational points of view. The volume further collects experiences and evidence on the effective use of online labs in the context of a diversity of pedagogical issues. It also illustrates successful online laboratories to highlight best practices as case studies and describes the technological design strategies, implementation details, and classroom activities as well as learning from these developments. Finally the volume describes the creation and deployment of commercial products, tools and services for online laboratory development. It also provides an idea about the developments that are on the horizon to support this area.

This volume investigates a number of issues needed to develop a modular, effective, versatile, cost effective, pedagogically-embedded, user-friendly, and sustainable online laboratory system that can deliver its true potential in the national and global arenas. This allows individual researchers to develop their own modular systems with a level of creativity and innovation while at the same time ensuring continuing growth by separating the responsibility for creating online laboratories from the responsibility for overseeing the students who use them. The volume first introduces the reader to several system architectures that have proven successful in many online laboratory settings. The following chapters then describe real-life experiences in the area of online laboratories from both technological and educational points of view. The volume further collects experiences and evidence on the effective use of online labs in the context of a diversity of pedagogical issues. It also illustrates successful online laboratories to highlight best practices as case studies and describes the technological design strategies, implementation details, and classroom activities as well as learning from these developments. Finally the volume describes the creation and deployment of commercial products, tools and services for online laboratory development. It also provides an idea about the developments that are on the horizon to support this area.

The ever increasing utilisation of robotic manipulators for various applications in recent years has been motivated by the requirements and demands of industrial automation. Among these, attention is focused more towards flexible manipulators, due to various advantages they offer compared to their rigid counterparts. Flexural dynamics have constituted the main research challenge in modelling and control of such systems; research activities have accordingly concentrated on the development of methodologies to cope with this. The book reports recent and new developments in modelling, simulation and control of flexible robot manipulators. The material is presented in four distinct components: (i) a range of modelling approaches including classical techniques based on the Lagrange equation formulation, parametric approaches based on linear input/output models using system identification techniques, and neuro-modelling approaches; (ii) numerical modelling/ simulation techniques for dynamic characterisation of flexible manipulators using the finite difference, finite element, symbolic manipulation and customised software techniques; (iii) a range of open-loop and closed-loop control techniques based on classical and modern intelligent control methods including soft-computing and smart structures for flexible manipulators; and (iv) software environments for analysis, design, simulation and control of flexible manipulators. The book can serve as a teaching resource as well as a reference text for research.

This book provides state-of-the-art scientific and engineering research findings and developments in the area of mobile robotics and associated support technologies. The book contains peer reviewed articles presented at the CLAWAR 2012 conference. Robots are no longer confined to industrial manufacturing environments. A great deal of interest is invested in the use of robots outside the factory environment. The CLAWAR conference series, established as a high profile international event, acts as a platform for dissemination of research and development findings and supports such a trend to address the current interest in mobile robotics to meet the needs of mankind in various sectors of the society. These include personal care, public health, services in the domestic, public and industrial environments. The editors of the book have extensive research experience and publications in the area of robotics in general and in mobile robotics specifically, and their experience is reflected in editing the contents of the book.

Limited resources and other factors pose major challenges for engineering, technology, and science educators ability to provide adequate laboratory experience for students. An Internet accessible remote laboratory, which is an arrangement that allows laboratory equipment to be controlled remotely, addresses these difficulties and allows more efficient laboratory management. Internet Accessible Remote Laboratories: Scalable E-Learning Tools for Engineering and Science Disciplines collects current developments in the multidisciplinary creation of Internet accessible remote laboratories. This book offers perspectives on teaching with online laboratories, pedagogical design, system architectures for remote laboratories, future trends, and policy issues in the use of remote laboratories. It is useful resource for graduate and undergraduate students in electrical and computer engineering and computer science programs, as well as researchers who are interested in learning more about the current status of the field, as well as various approaches to remote laboratory design.