Weblab - Microscope A remote laboratory for experimenting with digital microscope Gabriel Martínez-Pieper, Ignacio Angulo, Javier García-Zubia Industrial Technologies Department University of Deusto Bilbao, Spain Gabi.martinez, ignacio.angulo, zubia@deusto.es Abstract—the use of high accuracy positioning systems provides endless possibilities for the development of remote laboratories. The remote laboratory presented in this paper allows full control of a microscope over a surface by the use of a Cartesian positioning system. The arrangement of multiple samples over the accessible surface by the lens so far as the provision of a rich graphical user interface will allow secondary school students to carry multiple experiments in biology, physics and chemistry through internet. Keywords— remote laboratory; positioning systems; digital mircoscope. I. INTRODUCTION (Heading 1) At the present time, most of the virtual laboratories available on the Internet that provide experimentation over mechanical systems are software-based. Experimentation provided by these systems is performed simulating real items and conditions. However, the simulation of real world conditions never fits the real behaviour. In these terms, experimentation over real equipment and samples allows the student to be closer to hands- on experimentation. The lack of real remote laboratories is higher in those fields where manipulating items is necessary such as physics, chemistry or biology. This inconvenience can be solved through automatic or semiautomatic systems that allow users to control various elements remotely. The remote laboratory introduced in this paper implements a software and hardware based system for performing experiments, quality reviews or material analyzing tasks remotely. Proliferation of 3D printer has emerged very affordable mechanical systems capable of perform very precise manipulations. II. THE SCOPE OF THE PROJECT The scope of this work is the development of a remote multipurpose remote laboratory using an automatic positioning system. For testing purposes, the element to be accurately positioned will be digital microscope. It can be used for observing and analyzing organisms or surfaces of various materials. The whole system consists in several parts and can be divided into various isolated subsystems: • Development of an automated positioning system. • Development of a firmware for controlling the mentioned machine. • Development of the web application for remotely controlling the whole system. • Integration with the RLMS Weblab-Deusto. III. THE REMOTE LAB The remote laboratory presented in this paper, allows performing various tasks. First, students will observe the evolution and behavior of organisms with a magnification up to 220X. This make possible performing some biology experiments like observation of bacteria cultures or insects. Additionaly, the laboratory can be used for remotely perform quality inspections or diverse materials analysis. The first prototype, shown at Fig.1 has been developed as a proof of concept previously to the definitive system that is currently in progress. Fig. 1. First prototype of the remote laboratory.