DL automationS
ONLINE DOCUMENTATION
THIS IS THE dl AUTOMATIONS DOCUMENTATION.
HERE YOU WILL FIND TUTORIALS ON HOW TO USE THOSE PRODUCTS.
The DL AUTOMATIONS is an e-learning platform with built-in courses, that has been developed to provide institutions with a resource to teach automation in practice, on distance learning, with high quality, quick launch, and low cost. Have a look at the video below.
As you can see everything was built to provide a professional experience to the students using industrial tools and environments. Therefore it has the following characteristics:
Industrial grade: the course’s projects and virtual environments are very trustworthy with reality
High quality: it’s an innovative, mature, and validated solution, already used in graduation and post-graduation disciplines. The:
• The virtual reality makes students feel inside an industry
• Active learning approaches keep students engaged
• Gamification lets students learn and have fun at the same time
Quick launch: it’s possible because there are built-in courses/disciplines that your institution can adopt and offer to the students
Low cost: the built-in courses avoid immediate investments in planning, creating content, and soon. And the automatic guidance and validation of the platform save professors’ time during the courses, so the same professor can support more students
All that is possible because DL AUTOMATIONS isn’t just an ordinary e-learning system or a simple simulator. It is a platform BUILT to teach automation which combines innovative e-learning and several smart simulators. That's why it provides:
Superior learning experience from realistic situations
Reduced instructional effort due to the automated tasks
HOW IMPORTANT ARE DL AUTOMATIONS
for teaching automation ?
Many engineers and technicians are graduated without ever having developed an automation system, tuned a PID control, controlled a robot, integrated a machine vision system, or even opened any industrial electric panel.
If developing these skills and providing these experiences is already a challenge in presential courses, in distance learning it was an issue even harder to solve. We may say it was because with DL AUTOMATIONS now you can.
That’s possible because, in DL AUTOMATIONS, the courses take place in industrial virtual environments. They include machines, processes, sensors, actuators, transducers, electric panels, wiring, and many other components of an automation system. All that is necessary to really bring the student into the factory floor reality.
How teatcher and student interact with it?
The student downloads a desktop application with the virtual reality and learning environments. That’s the tool he/she will use to learn and to communicate with professor and group.
The professor downloads the same application, to work on activities and to communicate with the students, and besides has access to a cloud portal with dashboards and analytics so he/she is able to follow the group’s progress in real time, identify students who need help and so on.
Student
The courses in DL AUTOMATIONS are gamified and problem-based. That means that at the platform students are not students. They are trainees in the engineering team of the factory. And as trainees, they have many projects and problems to work on, the same way they would be if they had been hired as trainees in a real factory.
So by taking the student into a story that happens in a virtual reality environment, we promote engagement and fun. In practice, the students feel challenged and motivated. This joy and challenging environment are what increases the learning process effectiveness.
Professor
The professor can do and access everything the student can. Besides, he/she can also access the DL dashboard (optional). It includes interesting reports and analytics which help the professor to monitor the group in real-time, as well as to identify students who are doing very well, as well as those who need help, who are not working at all, and who seem to be “cheating”.
WHAT SOFTWARES ARE EVOLVED IN THE PROCESS
Since the purpose of DL AUTOMATIONS is teaching automation, and that always requires using some programming or design tool, the student always works with it, and another tool opened on his/her PC.
The image below was taken from a course on automation and PLC programming, so at the left we can see Codesys Development Software and at the right, DL SMART-MAC (one of the DL AUTOMATIONS software) desktop app.
Besides the platform and the programming tool, there’s always another software that is normally open in background that is the SoftPLC. In case of Codesys it’s Codesys Control Win. If the student is using TIA Portal the SoftPLC would be PLCSIM and if it was Rockwell the SoftPLC would be SoftLogix. If the course is on Machine Vision, for example, the programming tool may be Cognex In-Sight and if it is Artificial Intelligence, than it would be a Python IDE.
Available BUILT-IN courses/disciplines
De Lorenzo’s goal is to cover every practical discipline in engineering courses with virtual reality environments, e-learning courses, and other resources. Right now we have the following courses/disciplines available for you to adopt in your institution. Select one of the softwares of the DL AUTOMATIONS line below to open its help page.
They can be offered as technical, graduation, post-graduation, or qualification modules/disciplines.
Naturally, the professors may adopt them as they are and make continuous improvements in the courses by adding extra content and other resources.
TECHNOLOGY OPTIONS
The machine automation and dynamic control courses have versions with TIA Portal, and Codesys. New versions for teaching how to automate with other PLCs can be quickly implemented.
The machine vision course has one version with Cognex In Sight platform.
The SCADA system’s courses were built to teach how to develop such applications with Codesys, Visualization, Elipse E3 and Siemens WinCC
The Robotics course uses Codesys with the Softmotion library
The Artificial Intelligence course works with Tensorflow virtual environment, very used in AI application
how are courses STRUCTURED
The courses are organized in challenges, which are mostly projects, and every project takes place in a virtual reality environment. So before learning theory or receiving instructions the student receives a project to work on so he learns everything knowing the purpose of it
Every challenge is divided in small tasks, which are mostly steps to develop the project. So the student develops the whole project by working on the small tasks.
Every small task includes instructions, theory, guidance and tips to reach the solution. The student though works on it, simulates, tests and tries to deliver by pressing the “delivery” button in the platform. In that moment, the platform tests the student’s solution in real time.
If the student’s solution meets the requirement of the task, the student is allowed to access the next task. If not, he/she receives information that help to identify where the problem is.
what ARE the advantageS OF usING dl AUTOMATIONS?
TASKS ARE AUTOMATICALLY VALIDATED
We call that AUTOMATIC VALIDATION and that’s one of the most important features in DL AUTOMATIONS. That means that we can validate if the student really developed the practical activity with success without the need for the professor to be watching videos, reading source codes, or any other deliverable analysis.
This feature lets the student carry on with the course in his/her own time and speed. And saves professors precious time, so one professor can support more students and yet have time to improve the course.
REPLACEMENT OF PRESENTIAL DISCIPLINES
BY DISTANCE LEARNING ONES
Regular technical, graduation, or post-graduation disciplines
Extension courses
Professional qualification courses
By doing that the institution may carry on with the courses without wasting time and, most important, keeping and increasing the quality.
BENEFIT FROM WORLDWIDE EVOLUTION
De Lorenzo is taking DL AUTOMATIONS all around the world. Our goal is to cover all practical disciplines in engineering courses in the next years. So by keeping the update and maintenance services, your institution will receive every new feature and course integrated into the platform and will benefit from every improvement that is made from the suggestions and requirements of worldwide users.