A generalized procedure to develop a virtual environment for the conducting of hydraulics laboratory experiments
Journal
EG-ICE 2010 - 17th International Workshop on Intelligent Computing in Engineering
Date Issued
2019
Author(s)
Abstract
In many engineering fields, laboratory experiment courses are a core aspect of engineering classes. Students can learn basic theories through manipulating the equipment and observing the phenomena in the experiments, cultivating an engineer's keen sense of observation. However, due to high costs and limited numbers of experimental equipment, students must be divided into groups having to take turns to do the experiment, causing a lot of difficulty and inconvenience in conducting this kind of laboratory course. Maneuverable virtual equipment is an ideal approach for providing a feasible alternative to using physical laboratory equipment in courses. Yet such an alternative is not without its challenges. Developing virtual equipment requires mapping experimental procedures from the physical world onto virtual environments. The system developers need to deal with constraints unique to virtual environments, such as limitations in user interfaces and computer calculation speed. It requires effective integration of the expertise between experienced teachers and the 3D system programmers. To achieve this purpose, our research has proposed a generalized procedure for developing virtual equipment and instruments for procedure-based experiments. The procedure has four main phases: (1) observation, (2) storyboard, (3) implementation, and (4) user test; or OSIT in short. To validate the OSIT, it was used to develop and implement virtual equipment for a standard hydraulic experiment, called the Force Vortex Experiment, at National Taiwan University. We found that using OSIT significantly reduced the total elapsed time of communication between instructors and 3D programmers. OSIT also delivered software that better matched users' needs. © Nottingham University Press
Subjects
Engineering education; Hydraulic experiment; User centered design; Virtual equipment
Other Subjects
Computation theory; Curricula; Engineering education; Intelligent computing; Laboratories; Software design; User centered design; User interfaces; Virtual reality; Computer calculation; Experimental equipments; Experimental procedure; Feasible alternatives; Laboratory experiments; National Taiwan University; Physical laboratory; Virtual equipments; Hydraulic machinery
Type
conference paper