Remote lab of robotic manipulators through an open access ROS-based platform

The research, training, and learning in robotic systems is a difficult task for institutions that do not have an appropriate equipment infrastructure, mainly due to the high investment required to acquire these systems. Possible alternatives are the use of robotic simulation platforms and the creation of remote robotic environments available for different users. The use of the last option surpasses the former one in terms of the possibility to handle real robotic systems during the training process. However, technical challenges appear in the management of the supporting infrastructure to use the robotic systems, namely in terms of access, safety, security, communication, and programming aspects. Having this in mind, this paper presents an approach for the remote operation of real robotic manipulators under a virtual robotics laboratory. To this end, an open access and safe web-based platform was developed for the remote control of robotic manipulators, being validated through the remote control of a real UR3 manipulator. This platform contributes to the research and training in robotic systems among different research centers and educational institutions that have limited access to these technologies. Furthermore, students and researchers can use this educational tool that differs from traditional robotic simulators through a virtual experience that connects real manipulators worldwide through the Internet.The authors are grateful to the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT, Portugal) for financial support through national funds FCT/MCTES (PIDDAC) to CeDRI (UIDB/05757/2020 and UIDP/05757/2020), and SusTEC (LA/P/0007/2021).