Development of industry 4.0 virtual lab for manufacturing engineering education

A technology driven society of 21st century demands skilled technocrats and engineers. To fulfil this demand, a revolutionary transformation is required within higher education. With time, the traditional classroom teaching is being replaced by ultra-modern techniques, textbooks by e-books and online database, student backpacks by smart electronic devices, and physical labs by virtual labs. E-learning has been introduced for convenient quicker learning and better understanding. The virtual lab is an interactive tool in higher education that contributes to dynamically prepare the engineers ready for the 4th industrial revolution. This tool is capable to address the need of practical component in engineering education in case of unavailability of sophisticated expensive machines and highly skilled lab technicians. The virtual laboratory sessions mimic reality and create learning experience similar to physical laboratory sessions with flexibility. At University of Johannesburg, an Industry 4.0 Virtual Lab has been developed for manufacturing engineering education. This article discusses the rationale and philosophy behind and various important aspects as regards to the development of virtual lab sessions for manufacturing engineering education of the undergraduate level students at University of Johannesburg.