Keywords
industrial automation
digital twin
Industry 4.0
How to Cite
Abstract
The teaching of automation and control technologies requires laboratories equipped with didactic benches, making the teaching-learning process costly and limited in terms of accessibility. Virtual benches offer an option for face-to-face teaching, democratizing access to education, including in remote locations such as rural areas. The SIMP virtual bench is a free software developed at the Industrial Technical College of Santa Maria (CTISM) in conjunction with the Federal University of Santa Maria (UFSM), being a low-cost and fast-learning option. Through experimentation, it was found that students have a much higher success rate correctly assembling pneumatic circuits when using the software compared to using only the physical bench (76% vs. 24%). The virtual bench, in conjunction with the physical bench through the Digital Twin approach enhances the accessibility and effectiveness of education in pneumatics. This article explores the possibility of applying SIMP as a Digital Twin of a pneumatic didactic bench by replicating its behavior, becoming an appropriate option for the Brazilian educational reality, with the objective of improving teaching and learning in the area of industrial automation in line with the principles of Industry 4.0.
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