The Development an IoT-Based Virtual Model of Power Grid System with Renewable Energy Sources for a Laboratory Practicum of Control Systems

Today, Ukraine faces challenges that significantly impact the educational process in higher education institutions. Initially, the COVID-19 pandemic and later the war have hindered students’ ability to develop hard skills effectively. Approximately 50% of students in technical universities in Ukraine lack access to laboratories for practical training. To compensate for educational losses and enhance the quality of practical training, it is essential to focus efforts on virtualizing laboratories and ensuring remote continuous access to them. Modern technologies and cloud services enable the creation of digital twins of technological processes that can replace physical equipment, conduct simulation modeling of various systems, create interactive systems, and allow students to research and test solutions they have developed in a safe environment. This realization method ensures uninterrupted access to educational content for learners, regardless of their actual location and at a convenient time in secure conditions. The result of this work is a prototype IoT system created using databases, Node-RED, and protocols such as MQTT, HTTP/HTTPS, among others. The developed IoT system familiarizes education seekers with examples of building geographically distributed computer-integrated networks for automation and monitoring of control object statuses using Industry 4.0 and IoT. The virtual model of the IoT system represents a power grid consisting of consumers, power plants, and renewable energy sources. All model components interact in a unified information space, allowing students to gain practical experience in virtual environments with networking technologies, programming, data analysis, and control algorithm development. This work was supported by the European Commission [grant number ENI/2019/413–664 “EDUTIP”] and Edunet World Association (EWA).