Development of a Web-based laboratory for control experiments on a coupled tank apparatus

The Internet provides a new environment for developing a variety of applications for educational and research purposes. This paper presents the implementation of a web-based laboratory experiment on a coupled tank apparatus, a Multiinput-Multioutput (MIMO) system. The web-based laboratory has been developed to serve students and staff in the Department of Electrical Engineering at the National University of Singapore (NUS). The laboratory is an educational tool for teaching students the basic principles and methodology in performing a series of experiments on a coupled tank apparatus at any time and from any location through the Internet. With the capability to implement strategies for manual, proportional integral derivative (PID), general state-space, and fuzzy logic control, the laboratory also provides a platform for research staff to test control algorithms. Video conferencing has been used to provide audio and video feedback, with a camera mounted on a movable platform so that the user can control both the zooming and viewing angle. The laboratory can be accessed at http://vlab.ee.nus.edu.sg/vlab/control/.