Transcript Development of Cost-Effective Virtual Reality Tools for

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 forcefeedback 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 PCbased 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 with many low-cost devices.
Why a Materials Science Department?
• Cutting edge research in computer science is often
defined by cost of technology; cost efficiency is not
usually of primary concern
• Better connection with educational requirements of
materials science and engineering
• Close feedback from end users
Drawbacks:
• Finding students with necessary computational skills and
interests
• Appropriate topic for thesis research?
The Phantom Haptic
SensAble Technologies
(MIT student spin-off)
http://www.sensable.com
Premium 1.0 (~$15,000)
Desktop ($9,950)
Current Educational Design
• Students manipulate virtual objects
• Current design: ~$25,000 ($15,000)
• Projected cost (5-10 years): ~$1,000-$3,000
Educational Modules
 Diatomic Bond Strengths
 force and energy curves
 covalent, metallic, ionic, van der Waals bonding
 Stress-Strain Relations
 linear and nonlinear elastic behavior
 yield, tensile strengths and plastic behavior
° work hardening, dislocation motion
• Atomic Diffusion
° relative barriers for bulk, defect and surface diffusion
• Electron Densities
• Polymer Bonding and Properties
Diatomic Bonding and Interatomic Forces
User Interface:
• control atom
motion with
haptic
• simultaneously
feel force and
view energy
and force
graphically
• Sphere rendering
and forces
calculated in
real time
Diatomic Bonding and Interatomic Forces
User interface - dialog box with system choice
• Choose systems
representative of
bonding types
• Interface resets
graphs, feedback
forces, and sphere
radii.
Diatomic Bonding and Interatomic Forces
Dialog box with leading questions.
• enhances active
learning
• better retention
of information
• stimulates
interaction with
computer
model
Stress-Strain Behavior
User Interface
•
Control strain of
sample with haptic
•
simultaneously
feel stress, view
stress-strain curve,
sample necking
•
dialog boxes with
different types
of behavior, leading
questions
To be added:
° permanent
deformation
° strain hardening
° dislocation motion
Conclusions
Virtual reality technology:
• is fast becoming accessible to undergraduate
education
• makes ‘abstract’ concepts understandable
• can motivate ‘hands-on’ tactile learners
• facilitates active learning
• leads to better knowledge retention (?)
• adds intuition to engineering skill set
Thanks again to
National Science Foundation, Intel, Microsoft