Virtual laboratory in pneumatic systems education.

Velisek, Karol ; Kostal, Peter ; Mudrikova, Andrea 等

1. INTRODUCTION

In these days social situation, political situation, economical situation and also globalization are creating special environment in which can survive only the best personalities.

* Important requirement of potential employers is an "correct" relation between professional competences (high level of professional knowledge a knowledge of present branch stay) and key competences. (Mudrikova 2006)

* Key competences can be represented as universal skills complex, which overhung level of specific professional knowledge and skills. Key competences are skills, which are telling something about that, how will some person behave accordingly to the situation. Professional competences are of course very important and key competences are helping for better use of professional competences in praxis.

* Professional competences, which ensure good managing of working tasks.

Key competences, are widely usable skills such as decide ability, solving problems ability, tem working ability, communication in foreign language, learning ability, ability to work with information, and so on.

2. LABORATORY OF PNEUMATICS SYSTEMS

In these days, at our department we have the possibility to work in laboratory of pneumatic system. The laboratory includes two workplaces, which means that four student are able to work in the laboratory.

Student can work in the laboratory and so they are able to improve their practical skills and they also reach new skills from studied information. Pneumatic mechanisms can be found in many forms in number of specialized subjects. The ambition of the lector is to show all these mechanisms in form of practical exercises, to show its function in some practical form. (Fig. 1)

In many cases the mechanism is not working exactly, so student have to rebuild the exercise, what leads to the increase of manual skills and this activity increase failure searching skill. Many mechanisms are not working, because there is not enough hardware, and building elements replacement is also thing of money.

[FIGURE 1 OMITTED]

The aim of whole project is creating of virtual pneumatic and electro-pneumatic control system laboratory. This laboratory will be used for learning of designing principles deals about creation of pneumatic and electro-pneumatic control system and its simulation. (Zvolensky 2007)

Creation of such laboratory will lead to the quality increase of teaching process of some subjects which belongs to our study branch called manufacturing devices and systems (automation and mechanization, automates theory, and so on ...) Student which will go through courses in these kind of laboratory will get needed professional skills and competences.

These competences and skills will strengthen their skills, which are very important for designing process of such devices. The students will also know the methodology how to create several types of systems, which will lead to their labor market value increase.

3. VIRTUAL LABORATORY

New created virtual laboratory of pneumatic system will be used for teaching of pneumatic and electro-pneumatic systems principles. Various control systems can be realized with help of pneumatic and electro-pneumatic systems.

Pneumatic and electro-pneumatic can also simulate some real industrial systems. By creating of virtual laboratory we would like to increase the quality level of some our subjects. Student with studying and working in this laboratory will increase their skill needed for design of such devices. Following to these new information and skill students will be also more attractive for its possible employers. (Danisova et al 2007)

Student will in virtual laboratory create pneumatic or electro-pneumatic models of control systems and they will be also able to simulate the function of such device. Student will be able to create its own virtual pneumatic or electro-pneumatic control system, and they will be also able to test this system. So they will be able to verify the proper function of the system by using of simulation.

[FIGURE 2 OMITTED]

Virtual laboratory equipment will be composed of 10 PC with actual hardware parameters and they will have the functions of single working units. (Fig. 2) Then network server will be installed in the laboratory. The function of such server will be internet access and other one function will be the function of licence server. The environment of this laboratory will also include data projector of high quality with silver screen, interactive board. All this equipment will lead to the using of modern teaching methods.

3.1 Manuals, studying literature and E-learning

Within the frame of this project will be created manuals which will be accessible through internet access. The manuals and materials will deal about connections of chosen pneumatic and electro-pneumatic control systems. Solved tasks will start with simple layouts and will end with more complex tasks.

Every such task will include detail device function description and standard connection scheme. These schedules will serve as supplementary study literature for students of internal and also distant study form. Experiences connected with creating of such teaching system will be implemented in to the distant study system by help of e-learning.

If we are looking to the e-learning as to the effective using of information technologies in education process, we can say that we are talking about two new possibilities, which can be used in education process. (Velisek et al 2007)

E-learning is created to improvement of these disadvantages and it is an optimal solution for complex education. To create interesting, address, individual and interactive education process, which can be integrated in to the every day live, we have to combine proper methods of classical and e-learning education style. Also in areas in which is personal contact with teacher necessary, can be students learned before through electronic. Students are then coming to the lectures with new amount of information and questions. After such process teacher is able to speak only about interesting or difficult fields of study. Also the time of lectures can be reduces. (Mudrikova et al 2007)

E-learning brings many communication ways such as emails, video conferences, which allows teacher to individual access to individual students. Information such as, how good was the students in single lectures, how many points reach student in single fields of study or haw many time it takes for each student. Thanks to the number of communication ways is teacher able to communicate with his students more intensive as before by typical classes of classical education system.

E-learning is a solution designated for education process, but the education is showed in other context. E-learning is not restricted only for student education, but in some view it is a method of information passing or sharing. Such sharing and passing information is important in field of whole life education process, which is very important for technician. Classical information technologies and systems are handling about information searching and searching in the exact time. E-learning gives emphasis on kind of information passing.

E-education as a new progressive way of education brings new possibilities. This education form can be used in all degrees of formal education and can be also used in whole life education process.

4. CONCLUSION

To the most important requirements influencing to the future employees--technical engineers belongs:

* Creativity,

* Foreign language skills,

* Independence,

* Computer working skill,

* Responsibility,

* To be flexible sill,

* Knowledge of actual trends in the branch,

* Willingness of other education,

* Communication skills. (Mudrikova 2006)

Students can create all these competences by the work in virtual and real pneumatic and electro-pneumatic laboratory.

Systems and its functions, which are learned in virtual laboratory, can be found in real industrial environment. Knowledge and skills with those systems are highly reputable and are also searched by wide number or employers, such as huge international technical industries and concerns such as (PSA, KIA, Volkswagen, and others.)

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The research has been supported by national grant: KEGA 3/5211/07--Building of virtual laboratory of pneumatic systems

5. REFERENCES

Danisova, N.; Zvolensky, R. & Ruzarovsky, R. (2007) Inteligent manufacturing systems. Inteligentne vyrobne systemy. (Intelligent manufacturing systems), Proceedings oof: ERIN 2007. Edducation, Research, Innovation : 1. medzinarodna konferencia mladych vyskumnikov a doktorandov. Bratislava 25.-26.4. 2007. Zbornik abstraktov.--Bratislava : STU v Bratislave, 2007.--ISBN 978-80-2272636-8

Mudrikova, A. (2006) Celozivotne vzdelavanie ako jedna z podmienok profesnej uspesnosti inziniera--technika. Proceedings of SCHOLA 2006. 7. medzinarodna vedecka konferencia KIPP : Kvalita vychovy a vzdelavania. Bratislava : STU v Bratislave, 2006.--ISBN 80-227-23894.--S. 274-279

Mudrikova, A.; Charbulova, et al. (2007): Virtual laboratory of pneumatics. Proceedings of 25 jubilejna naucna konferencija s mezdunarodno ucastie MTF 2007., Sbornik dokladi. Tom II.--Sozopol, 14.-16. 9. 2007.--Sofia : Techniceskij universitet, 2007.--ISBN 978-954-438-624-5.--10-15, Tom 1

Velisek K.; Kosfal, P. & Mudrikova, A. (2007) TVORBA A BUDOVANIE VIRTUALNEHO LABORATORLA PNEUMATICKYCH A ELEKTROPNEUMATICKYCH SYSTEMOV RIADENIA, (Building of virtual laboratory of pneumatic systems) Projekt KEGA.2007

Zvolensky, R(2007): Design of automated disassembly devices. Proceedings of RaDMI 2007 7th International Conference "Research and Development in Mechanical Industy--RaDMI 2007", Belgrade/Serbia/, 16-20 September 2007.--Trstenik : High Technical Mechanical School of Trstenik, 2007.--ISBN 86-83803-22-4.--S. 697-700