Development of Virtual Reality Tools for Engineering Education

9975680Brenner北卡罗来纳州立大学的这个项目继续开发用于工程教育的虚拟现实(VR)工具，使学生能够与教育计算机模型进行触觉和视觉交互。每个VR站的硬件由力反馈触觉和基于PC的可视化组成。触觉本质上是一个三维手持操纵杆，其中使用机械连接来控制触觉手臂的运动。这种控制可以是推或拉的形式，也可以是运动阻力的形式。在第一个供资期间，开发了五个教育软件模块，其中包括原子间作用力、应力-应变、扩散和气相沉积的表面动力学。在继续阶段，这些模块将被改进以消除颤动并包括立体可视化能力，并将开发新的模块来说明与材料的力学属性(蠕变、疲劳)相关的原子学概念，以及围绕原子力显微镜图像构建的模块。与旨在说明材料工程概念的模块的同时触觉和视觉交互使学生能够获得与其他看似抽象的主题(如原子间作用力和扩散障碍)的实践经验。事实证明，这种能力对于与实际应用有关的工科学生来说尤其重要，而不是抽象的概念。从事这个项目的学生已经编写了模块，说明了原子间的键合、应力应变行为和扩散过程，这些都利用了这个硬件。

9975680BrennerThis project at North Carolina State University continues development of virtual reality (VR) tools for engineering education that allow students to interact tactily and visually with an educational computer model. The hardware for each VR station is composed of a force-feedback haptic and PC-based visualization. The haptic is essentially a three-dimensional hand-held joystick in which mechanical linkages are used to control the motion of the haptic arm. This control can be in the form of a push or pull, or a resistance to motion. During the first funding period, five education software modules that include interatomic forces, stress-strain, diffusion and surface dynamics of vapor deposition have been developed. In the continuation phase, these modules will be refined to eliminate chatter and to include stereo visualization capabilities, and new modules illustrating atomistic concepts related to mechanical properties of materials (creep, fatigue) and modules built around atomic-force microscopy images will be developed.Simultaneous tactile and visual interaction with modules designed to illustrate concepts in materials engineering allows students to gain "hands-on" experience with otherwise seemingly abstract topics such as interatomic forces and diffusion barriers. This capability has proven especially important for engineering students that relate to practical applications rather than abstract concepts. Students working on this project have written modules illustrating interatomic bonding, stress-strain behavior, and diffusion processes that take advantage of this hardware.