A remote experiment vs. hands-on

This work describes a Demo to be presented in the Demo Session at exp.at'15, related with an experiment that can be used either as hands-on or as a remote setup. In this way, after lab sessions students may use a totally familiar experiment any time they need to go back to the experimental topic. The electronics and the web server functionality are based on microcontrollers' capabilities and the sensing system is based on simple and homemade sensing devices. The prototype allows students to compare the mechanical properties of two different materials or offers a more complete investigation by analyzing and comparing results from distinct specimens — materials and/or beam geometries. It also permits to understand easily the concept of stiffness and its relation with Young Modulus and the specimen dimensions.