Parallel teaching laboratories: a new AI infrastructure empowering K-12 education

To address the challenges faced by kindergarten through twelfth grade (K-12) teaching laboratories in operational efficiency, safety assurance, and intelligent support, parallel intelligence was introduced, and a parallel teaching laboratory framework centered on the artificial systems, computational experiments, and parallel execution (ACP) method, while integrating the three-class human system. Through the construction of artificial systems, the execution of computational experiments, and the implementation of parallel execution, traditional teaching experiments were transformed into virtual-real integrated processes that were computable, analyzable, and verifiable. By systematically integrating next-generation AI technologies, including large language models and vision-language-action (VLA) models, autonomous operation and safety-controllable experimental teaching were supported. The architecture, key technologies, and operational mechanisms of the parallel teaching laboratory were analyzed, and the feasibility and application value of the framework in real educational settings were validated through the construction practice of the Smart Transportation AI Laboratory at Tianjin No. 2 High School. The results show that the parallel teaching laboratory provides a feasible pathway for promoting the evolution of K-12 experimental teaching from static facilities to intelligent systems.