Learning Hands-On Electronics from Home: A Simulator for Fritzing

The recent pandemic has forced us to teach online, which is especially difficult for hand-on courses in robotics, like basic electronics. In this paper, I present a simulator which tries to replicate the same experience students will encounter during the exercises in the laboratory. The simulator has been developed in Fritzing, uses realistic multimeters for measuring and checks for common mistakes. Results show not only that the simulator was extremely useful during the pandemic, but also that it can supplement laboratory exercises when teaching in-classroom.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures, to be published in 25th International Conference Series on Climbing and Walking Robots (CLAWAR 2022