Experimental work in engineering laboratories is essential for research, knowledge transfer, and technology development. However, experimentation with physical dynamic systems often entails significant economic, logistical, and usability constraints. While computer-based simulations can partially address these limitations, many existing virtual laboratories still rely on proprietary software or specialized hardware. They are frequently limited to offline analysis or simple visualization. The main contribution of this work is a replicable WebVR framework that unifies real-time dynamic simulation, interactive 3D visualization, and controller tuning within a browser-based architecture, without relying on proprietary software or specialized hardware. The framework is validated through a virtual robotics laboratory that includes two representative systems, the simple pendulum and a fully actuated inverted pendulum on a cart, covering theoretical modeling, real-time simulation, interactive visualization, and PID controller tuning. In addition, a virtual mass–spring–damper (MSD) system is incorporated into the WebVR laboratory. A comparative analysis against a Simscape Multibody implementation shows that the WebVR laboratory provides a favorable balance between accuracy, affordability, and usability, while offering scalability, extensibility, and inclusiveness for education and research in dynamic systems. The framework is further validated through numerical accuracy analysis, real-time performance benchmarking, robustness evaluation under parameter variations, and qualitative comparison with a traditional Simscape Multibody implementation. • A WebVR framework is proposed for virtual laboratories of dynamic systems. • Provides real-time interactive simulations on everyday low-cost devices. • Outperforms Simscape Multibody in accessibility, cost, and scalability. • Enables immersive, inclusive, and sustainable engineering education. • Supports applications in controller tuning and dynamic systems research.
Rodríguez-Molina et al. (Mon,) studied this question.