PEARL – Paderborn Electrical Engineering AR Laboratory
1st Place – GOLC Online Laboratory Award 2025 (Virtual and Augmented Reality Experiments)
The Paderborn Electrical Engineering AR Laboratory—better known as PEARL—has received first place in the 2025 GOLC Online Laboratory Award in the category Virtual and Augmented Reality Experiments. Developed by Mesut Alptekin, Daniel Münstermann, and Katrin Temmen at University of Paderborn (Germany), the award-winning project was recognized during the 22nd International Conference on Smart Technologies & Education (STE2025) in Santiago, Chile.
Presented annually by the Global Online Laboratory Consortium (GOLC), under the umbrella of the International Association of Online Engineering (IAOE), the awards celebrate innovation and excellence in the design and delivery of online laboratory experiences. PEARL stood out among this year’s submissions for its strong educational focus, accessibility, and technological sophistication.
PEARL is an augmented reality mobile app designed to introduce electrical engineering students to essential lab instruments through interactive, guided training. Available on mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets, as well as MR-Glasses, i.e. Meta Quest 3 and Apple Vision Pro, the app simulates the use of oscilloscopes, function generators, multimeters, and breadboards in an immersive 3D environment. Tutorials and assessments are integrated to reinforce learning and help students develop confidence in handling complex equipment—even before setting foot in a physical lab.
“By providing free access to lab equipment in a simulated AR environment, PEARL eliminates the need for expensive physical tools or dedicated lab spaces. Users can practice and refine their skills anytime and anywhere, using only their smartphone or Meta Quest 3 headset. PEARL represents an innovative approach to laboratory education, offering flexible, hands-on learning that complements traditional coursework, making it a valuable tool for enhancing the practical understanding of electrical engineering concepts.” — direct quote from the project application
The project has been supported by the Stiftung Innovation in der Hochschullehre and evaluated in multiple studies, each confirming a measurable and lasting improvement in students’ conceptual and procedural knowledge of lab tools.
Mesut Alptekin, who led the project submission, is a research associate at the Department of Electrical Engineering and Information Technology at the University of Paderborn. His work focuses on digital teaching technologies and immersive media, with a particular interest in the use of AR for practice-oriented laboratory preparation. He is actively involved in the development of gamified learning environments and explores research methods such as eye-tracking to better understand learning processes. His teaching activities include the integration of AR/VR tools into STEM education as well as the delivery of workshops on digital key competencies such as encryption, IT security, and Python programming.
Call to Action
Want to know more? See news item from the University of Paderborn and watch the PEARL project video:
🔗 Website University of Paderborn
📺 YouTube video about PEARL
📧 Contact: mesut.alptekin@upb.de, katrin.temmen@upb.de
