Design of portable industrial automation education training kit compatible for IR 4.0

Abstract

A myriad of existing education training kits are easily accessible, however lacks practicality as they require a large space to operate. This calls for a more portable and smaller training kit to facilitate the teaching and learning experiences. It is also necessary to ensure that the new design meets the requirement of the fourth Industrial Revolution besides assisting teaching and learning. A study was conducted using the results of students undertaking Industrial Automation Course in UNITEN. The data was obtained from assessment results when only simulation software was used, and simulation software is complimented by a training kit. The results indicated 1.6% and 18.0% increment in the number of students obtaining A+ respectively. This shows that students who are exposed to both simulation and also sensors and actuators wiring learnt better compared to the control group. Ultimately, this paper presents the development of a portable programmable logic controller (PLC)-based training kit for industrial automation course. This portable PLC training kit is only 470 × 370 × 270 mm in dimension, which is equivalent to a cabin size baggage, and weigh below 10 kg, making it the most suitable to teach smart sensor application for IR 4.0. © 2019 IEEE.