Enhancing Modeling Competencies in Industrial Robotics Via a Remote Lab

Access to real industrial robots is often limited in engineering programs, making it hard for students to connect mathematical models with how real robots actually behave. In this paper, we integrated a remote laboratory — allowing students to remotely operate an educational industrial robot — into a course traditionally based on simulation. Using a hybrid approach with pre-test/post-test evaluations, simulatorbased modeling, and remote hands-on practice, students first solved a kinematic task in simulation and then repeated it on the physical robot before analyzing differences and adjusting their models. The study showed that this experience greatly improved students' ability to recognize and reason about realworld behaviors such as vibration, overshoot, and singularities, helping them see how tools like inverse kinematics and Jacobian analysis matter beyond theory. Overall, the proposed remote robot lab proved to be an effective way to bridge the gap between idealized models and practical robotic performance.