2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Remote education, particularly in manufacturing engineering disciplines, is often limited in providing authentic hands-on learning experiences. Teleoperation has shown its potential to bridge this gap, yielding gains in fidelity, accessibility, and flexibility. However, traditional systems rely on expensive input devices that require significant training – such as space mice or virtual reality equipment. These devices restrict the broader adoption in education. To address these challenges, we developed and implemented TeleopLab: intuitive teleoperations to enable accessible remote hands-on labs. TeleopLab allows students to remotely control a robotic arm and lab equipment in real time using a smartphone motion interface in conjunction with Zoom. We designed TeleopLab to preserve the interactivity and real-world complexity of this process while transitioning the lab to an online format with minimal modification to the original lab content. This system was implemented in a professional laboratory course in an industry-led advanced manufacturing training program at an innovation center in western Massachusetts. This program includes complex tasks such as testing the tensile strength of 3D-printed parts. Students must iteratively use the results of the tensile strength measurement to adjust the 3D printing parameter settings and improve the quality of the print through multiple cycles. TeleopLab preserves the interactivity and real-world complexity of these processes, allowing students to conduct multiple cycles of testing and adjustment critical to manufacturing training. The educational impact of TeleopLab was evaluated using the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ), with pre- and post-use data collected from six students. The results showed an improvement of 25% in self-efficacy, 27% in motivation to re-engage, and a reduction of 13% in fear of making mistakes among students during the lab activities. Our findings suggest that TeleopLab offers a scalable, cost-effective solution to support authentic and interactive hands-on learning for remote learners.