Open-source multi-purpose remote laboratory for IoT education

With the constant growth of devices connected to the internet, many researchers focus their interest on the development of Remote Laboratories, taking advantage of the numerous electronic open-source platforms. The aim of this work is to propose a compact solution (hardware and software) for the implementation of a low-cost open-access remote laboratory. The key concept is using Python, a programming language that is strong, flexible and rich of free external packages. Specifically, Python is used at the same time as: (i) a microframework with server functionalities, (ii) a control unit that drives an Arduino microcontroller and a Raspberry Pi microcomputer. The software to access the laboratory is realized as a web client interface by using HTML5 and JavaScript. This software is light enough to be run on an average personal computer. The concept of Remote Laboratory allows students to be able to carry out didactic experiences without constraints with regard to space and time, being it accessible from everywhere with just a PC or even a smart device (smartphone, tablet, etc.). With this remote laboratory, students can do real measurements of physical quantities and perform real activities while accessing the system from any place, thus allowing students of distance learning universities to do real experiments.