Internet-of-things in remote-controlled laboratories

Abstract

In the South African education landscape, some of the schools have well-resourced science laboratories, while others are under- resourced. This has impacted on the quality of science education in under-resourced schools, resulting in a lower pass rate and poor Matric results. While under-resourced schools depend wholly on government funding because of the poor neighbourhoods they sit in, well-resourced schools are financed by parents in addition to government funds. The percentage of under-resourced schools is significant as it spans urban and rural areas, meaning that a large population of learners is affected by this status quo. This research is about technology that can facilitate collaboration between under- and well-resourced schools so that under-resourced schools can have access to laboratory resources that are available in well-resourced schools. It is about using the Internet of Things (IoT) technologies in remote-controlled laboratories. The proposed technology demonstrator in this research is specifically for facilitating a chemical reaction and incorporates IoT technologies including actuators, web cameras, sensors, RFID, and Arduino. The research contributes towards the concept of remote laboratories, specifically in the South African environment. It marries the concept of IoT into remote laboratory research. It is also a technology that replaces simulation as a very common technology in remote laboratories. The advantage of this technology is that it gives psychological presence to the learner.