Web-Based Control and Robotics Education

The development of the Internet and World Wide Web technology has motivated the introduction of new ways for distance learning and education. This book provides a timely and cohesive set of contributions that present methodologies, technologies and practical tools for teaching control and robotic systems analysis and design over the Web. It is the first book of?its kind in control and robotics education. The emphasis is placed on the two major means for web-based control and robotics education, viz. virtual labs and telelabs. In a virtual lab the remote student can use a simulationimation of the system under control for the experiments, whereas in a telelab the student can remotely conduct real physical experiments via the Web. The book includes sufficient background and review material and investigates valuable new tools and best practices validated by several case-studies in many academic environments under a variety of educational conditions and requirements. The book aims to enhance technological and educational skills with the ultimate goal to encourage web-based control and robotics learning.

Spyros G. Tzafestas received his B.Sc. in Physics (1963) and Graduate Diploma in Electronics (1965) from Athens University, Diploma of Electrical Engineering, from Imperial College (1967), M.Sc. (Eng.) in Control from London University (1967) and Ph.D. in Systems and Control from Southampton University, England (1969). From 1969 to 1973 he was Research Leader at the Computer Science Division of the Nuclear Research Center "Demokritos", Athens. From 1973 to 1984 he was Professor of Automatic Control at the University of Patras, and from 1985 to 2006 he was Professor of Control and Robotics at the National Technical University of Athens (NTUA), Greece. Temporary visiting teaching and / or research positions include : University of Calabria, Italy (1985, 1987), University of Delft, The Netherlands (1991) and MIT, USA (1992). He is currently Director of the Institute of Communication and Control Systems, and as a Professor Emeritus he is leading the Intelligent Automation Systems Research Group engaged with research carried out in ICCS-NTUA mainly in the framework of national and European projects. Dr Tzafestas is the Recipient of D.Sc. of Southampton University (1978), and Honorary Doctorates of the Technical University of Munich (Dr.-Ing. E.h., 1997) and the Ecole Centrale de Lille (Dr. Ing.-Honoris Causa, 2003). He has published 30 edited research books, 60 book chapters and over 700 Journal and Conference technical papers in the field of control, robotics and Intelligent Systems. He has been the coordinator of national and EU projects in the fields of IT, Intelligent systems, robotics, control and CIM. He is an associate editor of 15 Journals, and he was the Editor – in – Chief of the Journal of Intelligent and Robotic Systems (1988-2006) and of the Book Series "Micro processor – Based and Intelligent Systems Engineering, Kluwer (1993-2006). Presently, he is the Editor of the Springer book series on Intelligent Control and Automation Systems. He is a Fellow of IEE, now IET (London), a Life Fellow of IEEE (New York) and a Member of ASME, NYAS and the Hellenic Technical Chamber (TEE). He received the Greek Society of Writers’ Award and the Ktesibios Award from the IEEE Mediterranean Control Association (2001). Dr Tzafestas has over the years organized and / or chaired several international conferences (IEEE, IMACS, SIRES, IASTED, EUCA).