Developing an IP-Based Industrial Process Control Laboratory for Use in a Distance Education Environment

In this paper we present the development of a versatile Industrial Process Control (IPC) remote lab solution for facilitating 24/7 access to students anywhere in the world with an Internet connection. The lab will be built and tested during the spring semester of 2016 and piloted in a fall 2016 electromechanical systems course taught as part the BS in Industrial Engineering Technology (IET) program at East Carolina University. The lab environment will provide distance education students with the foundational hands-on skills needed to configure, maintain, and troubleshoot industrial control systems securely through a remote Internet connection. The centerpiece of the laboratory design is to provide distance education students with the hands-on lab experience of operating industrial process control equipment as though they had physical access to the laboratory equipment. The laboratory development offers a rare opportunity for inter-program collaboration in the planning, design, and implementation of the laboratory environment. A common discussion topic within academic institutions is the extent that differing, but related, disciplines can be integrated to take advantage of synergies and enhance the knowledge base and skill sets of the related disciplines. In this context, central to the development of the remote lab environment was the collaboration between faculty from Information and Computer Technology (ICT) and Industrial Engineering Technology (IET) programs.