Unai Hernandez

University of Deusto | DEUSTO · Telecommunications

This article describes the design of a Remote Laboratory (LR) for nuclear measurements. The use of LR is presented as an opportunity since it allows the process of manipulation and characterization of irradiated samples, as is common in experimentation, to be replicated more times than in a Traditional Laboratory (LT). The rapid technological devel...

In science and engineering education, remote laboratories are designed to bring ubiquity to experimental scenarios, by having real laboratories operated through the Internet. Despite that remote laboratories enable the collection of students' work data, the educational use of these data is still underdeveloped. Learning analytics dashboards are com...

VISIR is a remote laboratory oriented to analogue electronics. There are several copies of VISIR around the world (Sweden, Spain, Portugal, Costa Rica, Brazil, Argentina, India, Australia, Morocco, …) that are being used by thousands of students. It is well known that VISIR allows teachers and students to create and measure real electrical and elec...

The Virtual Instrument Systems In Reality (VISIR) remote laboratory was considered the best remote laboratory in the world, by the Global Online Laboratory Consortium (GOLC), in 2015. The first operational version of the VISIR remote laboratory was deployed in 2001. It was designed by Ingvar Gustavsson, with the collaboration of Kristian Nilsson an...

Remote laboratories allow students to perform and watch scientific experiences even if they can’t be physically in a science laboratory. Although it is a fine solution, it has a few shortcomings, being the lack of immersion being one of the most cited ones. Nonetheless, Virtual Reality (VR) improves the users’ experience while using remote laborato...

Educational remote laboratories are tools that allow students to access physical equipment from any location, online. There are different systems and tools created over the years to this end both in academia and industry. One of the fields where this technology has been applied most often is the teaching of analog electronics, taught in most Engine...

Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) are crucial in contemporary society, with 3D printing being a notable application. While widely used, its implementation in schools faces challenges such as long printing times, material wastage, energy consumption, and limited accessibility. Addressing these challenges, remote laboratories offer a v...

Extended Remote Laboratories (XRLs) have emerged as a potential solution to address the lack of science laboratories in educational institutions, a deficit that hinders the attainment of a Quality Education outlined in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. By integrating physical assets with Extended Reality (XR) technologies, XRLs provide a...

Remote labs are especially important for learning because they bring real results and each experience is unique. On the other hand, lack of immersion is one of the negative aspects of remote labs. This aspect can be solved through the integration of Extended Reality (XR) in remote laboratories. Extended Reality is an umbrella term that includes the...

Remote Laboratories (RLs) break barriers in education since they provide real experimentation anytime and anywhere. However, their greatest drawback is the lack of immersion. However, Extended Reality (XR) can overcome this shortcoming through the integration of AR, or VR techniques, into remote experimentation, thus developing Extended Reality Rem...

Rural schools are not, in general, well equipped for the STEM disciplines, but the students in rural areas should have the same opportunities that the students in the urban areas. The use of remote experiments could mitigate this situation. Remote experimentation democratizes the access to science and technology. This papers describes the R3 Projec...

A hyperspectral image makes it possible to collect and process information in the electromagnetic spectrum. Through the analysis of these images, information on the chemical composition of the sample under study can be obtained. The field of application of this type of technology is very extensive: the food industry, pharmaceuticals, forensic analy...

This article proposes a roadmap for the VISIR remote laboratory based on a SWOT analysis performed by fifteen experts, with large experience on VISIR deployment, and their perceptions in three categories: Technical, Pedagogical and Educational. The resulting VISIR roadmap was obtained considering an underlying strategy based on a RAKID model. The m...

Platooning is an application where a group of vehicles move one after each other in close proximity, acting jointly as a single physical system. The scope of platooning is to improve safety, reduce fuel consumption, and increase road use efficiency. Even if conceived several decades ago as a concept, based on the new progress in automation and vehi...

This paper treats the sharing of the radio spectrum by cellular and vehicular users, focussing on maximizing the throughput of these users while respecting the required quality of service. The proposed method is called RODEO, and has been designed for the development of applications in a cooperative vehicular scenario, where vehicles in a certain g...

Remote laboratories have been in use for 25 years now. Whereas several learning oriented meta-analyses exist, validated and agreed-upon tools for assessing the user experience are not readily available. The present paper fills this gap by designing and evaluating a questionnaire focused on the needs of remote labs developers and educators using the...

Like other sources of pollution, noise is considered to be one of the main concerns of citizens, due to its invisibility and the potential harm it can cause. Noise pollution could be considered as one of the biggest quality-of-life concerns for urban residents in big cities, mainly due to the high levels of noise to which they may be exposed. Such...

Cities are getting bigger and bigger, this means an increase in the concentration of population and therefore noise. This can pose a danger to our health, because without realizing it we could be exposing our body to noise levels much higher than permitted, but due to routine and being used to them, we do not give importance. To try to tackle this...

During the last ten years, the University of Deusto is using VISIR remote lab for analog electronics in the Faculty of Engineering. Present paper shows how we are using the VISIR with students, and its results. It is a catalog of experiments to invite other universities to join the VISIR consortium. Ongoing and future research in VISIR are also pre...

The Universidad Estatal a Distancia (UNED) in Costa Rica is the public distance-education university in Costa Rica. It has been regularly using different types of remote laboratories since 2017, and is in the process of deploying new remote laboratories, as well as providing high quality simulations for improving the experimentation process in dist...

The Universidad Estatal a Distancia (UNED) in Costa Rica is the public distance-education university in Costa Rica. It has been regularly using different types of remote laboratories since 2017, and is in the process of deploying new remote laboratories, as well as providing high quality simulations for improving the experimentation process in dist...

Remote laboratories are hardware and software tools that enable students to access real equipment through the Internet. Remote Laboratory Management Systems (RLMS) are software tools developed for creating remote laboratories in an easier way, providing some of the transversal features common in most remote labs (such as authentication, authorizati...

There is no doubt that experimental work is fundamental in the teaching of physics, however neither the accurate spaces nor the equipment for its fulfillment are always available. Taking into account the range of Remote Labs (RL) as resources for teaching and learning, the Open State University (UNED) from Costa Rica has started the Remote Testing...

The tool named WebLab-Boole-Deusto allows users to design and implement a bit-level combinational digital circuit. This tool helps students during the design process step by step: truth table, K-maps, Boolean minimization, Boolean expressions, and digital circuit. Also, students can access a remote lab for implementing and testing the system design...

In the framework of the Internet of Things (IoT) and more specifically the Internet of Vehicles (IoV), vehicles are called upon to play a key role as mobile sensors. Their high mobility and the large amount of electronics they currently deploy allow them to act as mobile information collectors in the places where they circulate. Together with these...

A remote laboratory is a hardware and software solution that enables students to interact with real equipment located somewhere else on the internet. This way, students interact with a real laboratory as if they were on a hands-on-lab session. Once the equipment is remote, it is also possible to share it among institutions, so students from one sch...

Vehicular Ad-Hoc Networks (VANETs) have attracted a high interest in recent years due to the huge number of innovative applications that they can enable. Some of these applications can have a high impact on reducing Greenhouse Gas emissions produced by vehicles, especially those related to traffic management and driver assistance. Many of these ser...

Since the engagement of Universidad Nacional de Rosario (UNR) in the VISIR+ Project, several courses in the career of Electronic Engineering (EE) have incorporated experiments with electronic circuits based on VISIR remote lab. Three educational implementations in courses of the career of EE at UNR are introduced in this paper. Evaluation results a...

Experimenting is fundamental to the training process of all scientists and engineers. While experiments have been traditionally done inside laboratories, the emergence of Information and Communication Technologies added two alternatives accessible anytime, anywhere. These two alternatives are known as virtual and remote laboratories and are sometim...

WebLab-Deusto is an open-source Remote Laboratory Management System (RLMS). On top of it, one can develop and manage remote laboratories and share them with other institutions. This chapter describes the architecture and features of the system, as well as a nontechnical view of other aspects such as how to share laboratories in the context of WebLa...

The VISIR+ Project was launched in 2015 with the objective of spreading the use of the VISIR remote laboratory in Latin America, promoting an enquiry-based approach to teaching and learning on electric and electronic circuits. Within the scope of this project, several didactical implementations were achieved both in Argentina and in Brazil. This ar...

En este trabajo se presenta una propuesta didáctica para facilitar el proceso de enseñanza y aprendizaje del tema circuitos eléctricos en la escuela media bajo la metodología por indagación. Esta metodología será implementada por el Ministerio de Educación Pública de Costa Rica a partir del año 2018. La propuesta se ha diseñado tomado en cuenta los...

A remote laboratory is a software and hardware tool that enables students to access real equipment located somewhere else through the Internet. This equipment is usually located in universities, schools or research centers. During the last couple of decades, different initiatives have emerged dealing with the development and management of remote la...

The learning of technical and science disciplines requires experimental and practical training. Hands-on labs are the natural scenarios where practical skills can be developed but, thanks to Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), virtual and remote labs can provide a framework where Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)...

Programming is part of the curricula in different subjects and countries. To face this challenge, schools are using visual programming (e.g., Scratch, Blockly) and/or educational robots. Some combinations of these two tools are very popular, such as the Lego Mindstorm robots. This work presents a remote controlled robot called RoboBlock, and its ma...

This paper describes a new system developed to improve the import process of steel coils driven into a port terminal in the Port of Bilbao. A new RFID based system minimizes mistakes in identification of the coils during the inland movements of goods.

The concept of smart cities comprises a wide range of control and actuators systems aimed to improve the habitability and perception that citizens have of cities. A smart city covers many of these systems, ranging from applications that facilitate the governance of cities and encourage citizens’ participation to services focused on improving their...

Experimental competences allow engineering students to consolidate knowledge and skills. Remote labs are a powerful tool to aid students in those developments. The VISIR remote lab was considered the best remote lab in the world in 2015. The VISIR+ project main goal is to spread VISIR usage in Brazil and Argentina, providing technical and didactica...

Resumen: Este trabajo describe una implementación didáctica del laboratorio remoto VISIR en el Instituto Politécnico Superior, en un curso de Física de nivel secundario con una estrategia de aprendizaje inductivo. El estudio presentado se enfoca en el análisis de la influencia de la herramienta utilizada en el entusiasmo de los estudiantes y en la...

The evolution of the IoT (Internet of Things) paradigm applied to new scenarios as VANETs (Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks) has gained momentum in recent years. Both academia and industry have triggered advanced studies in the IoV (Internet of Vehicles), which is understood as an ecosystem where different types of users (vehicles, elements of the infrast...

La actividad experimental es fundamental en la enseñanza de las ciencias en cualquier nivel de educación, para la comprensión de los contenidos, pero también para despertar el interés en las asignaturas científicas. La motivación de los estudiantes y el trabajo colaborativo son aspectos esenciales para lograr resultados positivos en el aprendizaje....

“Virtual Instruments System in Reality” (VISIR) es una plataforma laboratorio de acceso remoto desarrollada en el Departamento de Ingeniería Electrónica del Instituto de Tecnología de Blekinge (BTH), Suecia. VISIR ha sido empleada y evaluada en varios países e instituciones en el mundo, reportándose en la bibliografía que la misma facilita el logro...

En este trabajo analizamos la idoneidad epistémica y cognitiva de una actividad implementada por un docente de Física con estudiantes universitarios de segundo año de carreras de ingeniería. La actividad propone utilizar la plataforma Visir (Laboratorio Remoto) para llevar a cabo experimentos con circuitos de corriente continua destinada a profundi...

The learning of Physics involves building up and using lab experiments. In turn, teachers must be trained in experimenting and using several resources that enable them to design valuable teaching strategies and learning activities. Thanks to Information and Communication Technologies (ICT), virtual and remote labs can provide a framework where phys...

Experimental competences allow engineering students to consolidate knowledge and skills. Re-mote labs are a powerful tool to aid students in those developments. The VISIR remote lab was considered the best remote lab in the world in 2015. The VISIR+ project main goal is to spread VISIR usage in Brazil and Argentina, providing technical and didactic...

Research activities in the Vehicle-to-Everything do-main have gained momentum in the recent years. A strivefor ”intelligent” cars, at certain stage probably even entirelyautonomous, has triggered advanced studies - in both academiaand industry. One of the significant issues to be addressed ishow to efficiently share the available radio resources am...

Experiments have been at the heart of scientific development and education for centuries. From the outburst of Information and Communication Technologies, virtual and remote labs have added to hands-on labs a new conception of practical experience, especially in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics education. This paper aims at describi...

Remote laboratories give students the opportunity of experimenting in STEM by using the Internet to control and measure an experimental setting. Remote laboratories are increasingly used in the classroom to complement, or substitute for, hands-on laboratories, so it is important to know its learning value. While many authors approach this question...

Experimental activities with real components are an essential part of all courses including or devoted to electrical and electronic circuits theory and practice. The knowledge triangle composed of hand-written exercises, simulations and traditional lab experiments has been enriched with the possibility for students to conduct real experiments over...

This conceptual test shows how the proposed Cooperative Safety system for Vulnerable Road Users (CS4VRU) architecture can be used to alert cyclists about closing vehicles adding a wearable device embedded in their helmet. Over the architecture provided by CS4VRU a safety application has been developed using the cellular as a communications hub that...

Students of technological fields must practice so as to properly learn a particular field. There are different ways to practice: hands-on-lab in a real environment or a mockup, datasets (and tools for analyzing these datasets), or simulations. Each solution provides different advantages and disadvantages. For example, students might not prefer simu...

This chapter proposes a direction aware cluster-based multichannel MAC (DA-CMAC) protocol for Vehicular Ad-Hoc Networks (VANETs) in which vehicles travelling in the opposite direction may result in a short communication period. Clustering based on the direction of travel can reduce the cost of reconfiguration due to the short communication period....

A new system for building and measuring real analog electronic circuits has been developed and validated in the area of remote laboratories. The innovation of this work lies in the use of standardized solutions and non-proprietary solutions for designing and developing remote labs. This decision facilitates and improves the set-up, maintenance and...

In this paper the systems developed in the framework of the SELICA project are described. The project aims to monitor the fresh-food cold chain and control its temperature and humidity levels. After a preliminary analysis of the cold chain, two blackspots were detected: load and unload areas and the means of transport. For this purpose a set of tem...

In the Master's of Telecommunication Engineering program at the University of Deusto, Spain, courses in communication circuit design, electronic instrumentation, advanced systems for signal processing and radiocommunication systems allow students to acquire concepts crucial to the fields of electronics and communication. During the educational proj...

This paper proposes a direction based clustering and multi-channel medium access control (DA-CMAC) protocol for Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks (VANETs). Vehicles travelling in the opposite direction may result in a short communication period. Clustering based on the direction of travel can reduce the cost of reconfiguration due to the short communicatio...

V-Alert is a cooperative application to be deployed in the frame of Smart Cities with the aim of reducing the probability of accidents involving Vulnerable Road Users (VRU) and vehicles. The architecture of V-Alert combines short- and long-range communication technologies in order to provide more time to the drivers and VRU to take the appropriate...

This paper focuses on the application of Multi-Objective Evolutionary Algorithms (MOEAs) to develop a Fuzzy Rule-Based System (FRBS) dedicated to manage the speed of an autonomous vehicle in an intersection scenario. Compared to other intersection scenarios, the main point here is that the autonomous vehicle is approaching an intersection that is b...

This paper presents a remote lab designed for teaching the Archimedes’ principle to secondary school students, as well as an online virtual lab on the general domain of buoyancy. The Archimedes remote lab is integrated into WebLab-Deusto. Both labs are promoted for usage in frame of the Go-Lab European project.

The paper presents a remote lab for teaching the Archimedes' Principle. The Archimedes Lab is designed and implemented using sensors, electronic board, test tubes, high definition cameras, motors and objects. It is integrated into the WebLab-Deusto platform.

Recent developments in electronics and wireless communications have enabled the improvement of low-power and low-cost wireless sensors networks (WSNs). One of the most important challenges in WSNs is to increase the network lifetime due to the limited energy capacity of the network nodes. Another major challenge in WSNs is the hot spots that emerge...