Integrating Personalized AI-Assisted Instruction Into Remote Laboratories: Enhancing Engineering Education with OpenAI's GPT Models

In recent years, remote laboratories have become integral to modern education, offering flexibility and accessibility compared to traditional, in-person labs. Integrating AI-powered assistance into remote labs has the potential to give them an edge by providing personalized learning experiences. This paper explores an innovative approach to promoting independent learning and critical thinking by embedding AI-driven support, using OpenAI's GPT-4 model, into a remote Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) laboratory. Through a web-based code editor, students write SystemVerilog programs and receive tailored assistance from the AI, while their designs are deployed on a Terasic DEl-SoC FPGA development board with real-time feedback via a live camera feed. The study, which involved students from an advanced digital design course interacting with the AI assistant, revealed strong engagement and positive feedback. Preliminary results indicate that AI-powered guidance can meaningfully boost student involvement, providing a scalable and effective framework for fostering active learning in engineering education.