A multiuser virtual-reality environment for a tele-operated laboratory

In engineering studies, concepts taught through lectures are often complemented by laboratory experimentation. This contribution presents a collaborative virtual environment for a tele-operated laboratory. Students have access to the tele-operated laboratory via the Internet from anywhere at any time. They control the experiments exclusively with their standard Web browser; no additional software is needed. The collaborative environment allows the experimentation in a team. Group members are able to interact and discuss the results of their work. A real collaboration, such as in local experimentation, is possible. The tele-operated laboratory is based on a client/server architecture, which is implemented in the Java programming language.