Lab-by-wire: Fully web-based hands-on embedded systems laboratory

This paper addresses the remote labs challenge by outlining the development and use of a web-based but fully hands-on real-time software engineering lab with embedded systems focus, at the author´s institution: Florida Gulf Coast University. It consists of a number of lab stations designated for remote software development and testing in the undergraduate computer science and software engineering programs. The stations are fully developed for an undergraduate elective course on Embedded Systems Programming, are used in required senior level project courses, and at the time of this writing involve the use of microcontrollers and single board computers in teaching software development for data acquisition and control. First experiences regarding effects on pedagogy and technical and administrative issues are outlined.