The Mach-Zehnder Interferometer: A Smart Remote Experiment Based on a Software Template

Résumé En

Hands-on laboratory sessions are one of the pillarsof science and engineering education. It is reputed that institutionsfind it difficult to provide enough laboratory setups thatcover all taught scientific topics due to logistical and budgetarylimitations. With the recent advances in web technologies enablingreal-time interaction, remotely accessing physical devicesbecame possible, and so the rise of remote experimentation asa solution to the mentioned limitations. The development anddeployment of remote laboratories is still a tedious process forlab providers, given the need to write new applications for eachnew lab. In this paper, we propose a software template for labproviders that will alleviate some of their concerns by followingthe Smart Device Paradigm and Specifications and abiding tosoftware engineering rules to produce a reusable and flexiblesolution. We will show how this in-progress template can be usedfor implementing a remote Mach-Zehnder Interferometer.