With continuous development of information technology and mature communication channels through the Internet, remote labs may potentially overcome many constrains faced in hands-on laboratories (e.g., minimizing expenses, providing flexible lab schedule, and sharing limited resources among multiple students). This paper presents a comparative study among three different remote lab implementation options, which include all the unique solutions used in simple-to-sophisticated system development. The testbed is eComLab, a radio-communication remote laboratory system developed by the authors; it has been used in several courses at the department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA). The implementation options are discussed as various evolutional stages of the eComLab, which evolved from a simple single-user remote desktop application to a multi-user system architecture that operates as a gateway connecting four remote sides: (1) PC-controlled experiment, (2) users such as students, (3) instructor and (4) system administrators. In its latest version, users may utilize a regular web-browser to access remote experiments. The system provides various handy functions and enables group work capabilities. The paper also provides intervention data in the classroom through the analysis of surveys collected among students.
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