Development of Cost.PPTVIP

Development of Cost-Effective Virtual Reality Tools for Engineering Education A. Tragler, L. Srinivasan, M. McLauren and D.W. Brenner Department of Materials Science and Engineering North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC Sponsors: National Science Foundation (DUE and DMR) Intel Microsoft Sensable Technologies (Development Partner) Motivation Limited retention of concepts from introductory materials engineering lectures. Lack of hands-on experience with concepts such as bond strengths makes course material too abstract for some students. Strongly tactile learners handicapped by lecture format and course content. Significant population of engineering students alienated from materials science curriculum. Program Goals Enhance retention of fundamental principles of materials science and engineering Enable visual/tactile active learning of `abstract’ concepts: bond strengths, diffusion barriers, stress-strain curves Add physical intuition to engineering skill set Motivate `hands-on’ engineering students to consider materials engineering. UNC-Chapel Hill Virtual Reality Workbench R. Superfine, S. Washburn, Physics; R. Taylor, F. Brookes, Computer Science Research Application: Visual and tactile force- feedback user interface controls atomic-force microscope tip position. Current design: ~$100,000 Traditional Virtual Reality Technology Used primarily for high-tech training, entertainment, etc. Attempt to mimic interaction with a real immersive environment Incorporating tactile stimulation with immersive visual displays has been expensive - $100,000+ Limited access to undergraduate students for education Virtual Reality Technology and Education: Our Vision Replace immersive visual environment with single monitor and PC-based graphics `realistic’ environments with idealized representations (e.g. ball-and-stick molecules) advanced tactile technologies with new hand-held devices - key technology advance one $100,000+ device