Redesigning Maufacturing Automation Virtual Lab using Robot Emulation Technology

There are a limited number of Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC) and robots available in our lab, hindering the ability of individual students to utilize them and truly understanding how to program. Hence, this redesign will implement the use of emulation tools that will mimic PLC operation and robotic programming. The robot emulation tools are intended for robotics programmers who want to design their code and simulate the movements before uploading it and testing it on a physical robot. Moving to emulation we can scale the course to any size, will be able to properly evaluate student knowledge, and most of all, would dramatically improve the depth of knowledge.