It is not easy to get students to gain real-world experience with machines and automation systems, but most technical teachers have many skills and ideas for recreating industrial environments in their labs. The problems are the cost of materials, the space needed to install real systems, and the related difficulties of having enough systems to propose during lab sessions.
There are many solutions proposed by major vendors, but they are very expensive and sometimes not aligned with a school's needs. There are also virtual systems that could give very good results but cannot give real contact between students and machines.
The idea is to create a new concept of industrial simulators with the following features:
The goal, pursued together with partners in Spain, Sweden, Slovenia and Finland, will be to have an open online platform where technical teachers can:
The project is co-funded by the Erasmus + Program of the European Union. The author is responsible for this communication and the European Commission is not responsible for any use, which may be made of the information contained herein.