Improving Technician Skills in Advanced Manufacturing with a Low-Cost Virtual Reality Platform

虚拟现实应用在为技术人员提供有效培训方面显示出了希望。该技术可以取代在实践培训中使用的昂贵硬件。 然而，虚拟现实应用程序也很昂贵，这给社区和技术学院的采用造成了障碍。虚拟现实对学生学习先进制造技术人员计划的潜在影响是值得注意的，因为技术人员需要了解各种各样的设备和信息来执行任务。该项目将开发，实施和评估一个低成本的平台，用于开发虚拟现实模块，这些模块可以被社区学院采用和定制，包括那些资源有限的社区学院。通过消除在技术教育中广泛使用虚拟现实的障碍，该项目旨在改善学生在技术教育课程中的学习。该项目旨在创建一个由30多所社区和技术学院组成的网络，这些学院将能够为先进制造技术人员创建、合作和共享有效且可定制的低成本虚拟现实教育材料。该项目的目标是通过增加先进制造技术人员课程学生的虚拟现实培训应用程序的可访问性来改善学生的学习。为测试平台的成效，本项目将开发四个虚拟现实模块，分别为图纸阅读、几何尺寸和公差、基本工作区安全和质量控制。这些单元在改善学生学习方面的有效性将通过对在职制造技术员和见习技术员的前测和后测进行评估。然后，项目团队将培训教师开发和实施他们自己的定制模块，并为所有由此产生的虚拟现实模块的在线库做出贡献。作为该项目的结果，一个社区和技术学院教育工作者联盟将接受培训，在他们的课堂上使用虚拟现实应用程序。在该项目期间制作的资源和教学材料将通过该项目的网站提供，以便学术机构和制造商可以访问和使用这些资源进行培训。该项目由先进技术教育计划资助，该计划侧重于为推动国家经济的先进技术领域培养技术人员。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Virtual reality applications have shown promise in providing effective training for technicians. The technology can replace the need for expensive hardware used in hands-on training. However, virtual reality applications are also expensive, creating a barrier to adoption by community and technical colleges. The potential impact of virtual reality on student learning in advanced manufacturing technician programs is noteworthy, given the wide variety of devices and information that technicians need to understand to perform their tasks. This project will develop, implement, and assess a low-cost platform for developing virtual reality modules that can be adopted and customized by community colleges, including those with limited resources. By removing the barrier to the widespread use of virtual reality in technician education, this project aims to improve student learning in technical education programs. The project intends to create a network of more than 30 community and technical colleges that will be capable of creating, collaborating on, and sharing effective and customizable low-cost virtual reality educational materials for advanced manufacturing technicians.The goal of this project is to improve student learning by increasing the accessibility of virtual reality training applications for students in advanced manufacturing technician programs. To test the effectiveness of the platform, the project will develop four virtual reality modules on blueprint reading, geometric dimensioning and tolerancing, basic work area safety, and quality control. The effectiveness of the modules in improving student learning will be assessed using pre- and post-tests for incumbent manufacturing technicians and student technicians. The project team will then train faculty to develop and implement their own customized modules and contribute to an online library of all the resulting virtual reality modules. As a result of this project, a consortium of community and technical college educators will be trained to use the virtual reality applications in their classes. The resources and instructional materials produced during this project will be made available via the project’s website so that academic institutions and manufacturers can access and use the resources for training purposes. This project is funded by the Advanced Technological Education program that focuses on the education of technicians for the advanced-technology fields that drive the nation's economy.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.