Industrial Systems Design and Analysis: High-Fidelity Learning Environments for Engineering Education

今天，工程教育通过关注解决相关设计、规划和控制问题的工程方法和工具来解决工业系统（工厂、仓库和物流系统）。相应的知识体系非常广泛，但没有一个共同的、统一的理论基础。使这个问题更加复杂的是，学生们很少看到“真实的”工业系统问题的不切实际的简化插图。如果没有统一的理论基础，没有对该领域的全面了解，学生们只会得到一套不完整的技术技能，而且在很大程度上没有洞察到在实践中应用这些技能的复杂性。该项目通过将重点从工程方法和工具的不同集合转移到这些方法和工具的应用领域，从根本上重塑了工业系统的教学。我们正在创建一个新的教学平台，我们称之为“虚拟工业系统”，或VIS。VIS是一个集成的计算环境，包括描述特定工业系统的丰富、复杂的数据存储库（一个案例研究，只是更详细），一组用于描述、可视化、分析和综合的特定计算工具，以及一个通用的用户界面，该界面可以最大限度地减少在案例背景下学习使用这些工具的时间。VIS可以包含模拟、交互式决策、2D和3D表示、视频记录或任何其他数字形式的信息源。这个项目正在开发VIS的至少一个完整的实现，正如设想的那样，VIS不仅是一个学习工业系统的平台，也是一个学习特定方法的基础，如统计、优化和经济分析的平台。使用VIS，学生可以练习特定的工程方法和工具，但也可以探索广泛的“如果发生什么？”问题。我们相信，访问VIS可以极大地提高动机、对内容的掌握和对具体情况的洞察力。

Today, engineering education addresses industrial systems (factories, warehouses, and logistics systems) by focusing on engineering methods and tools used in solving associated design, planning, and control problems. The corresponding body of knowledge is very broad, but without a common, unifying theoretical base. Compounding this problem, students rarely see more than unrealistically simplified illustrations of "real" industrial systems problems. Without a unifying theoretical foundation, and without a comprehensive exposure to the domain, students are left with a poorly integrated set of technical skills, and largely without insight into the complexities of applying those skills in practice.This project radically reshapes the teaching of industrial systems by shifting focus from the disparate collection of engineering methods and tools to the domain in which those methods and tools find application. We are creating a new pedagogical platform that we call "virtual industrial systems," or VIS. A VIS is an integrated computing environment that includes a rich, complex data repository describing a particular industrial system (a case study, only much richer in detail), a set of specific computational tools for description, visualization, analysis and synthesis, and a common user interface that minimizes time to learn to use the tools in the context of the case. A VIS may incorporate simulation, interactive decision making, 2D and 3D representations, video recordings, or any other information source in digital form. This project is developing at least one complete implementation of a VIS.As envisioned, a VIS is a platform not just for learning about industrial systems, but also for learning the basics of specific methods, such as statistics, optimization, and economic analysis. Using a VIS, a student may practice specific engineering methods and tools, but also may explore a wide range of "what happens if?" questions. We believe that access to a VIS dramatically improves motivation, content mastery, and context-specific insight.