SwageXR:designing gamified AR applications for industrial training

This paper presents a case study describing the design of SwageXR, a gamified tubing assembly exercise where tubing fittings must be correctly identified and assembled. The aim of the gamified AR application is to increase engagement of course trainees to allow for learning development in both theory and practical based exercises.Design needs and requirements were gathered using a contextual design approach and qualitative research through interviews with training course instructors as well as a workshop involving them. The contextual design approach involved the PI taking part in the training course as one of the trainees to observe and build understanding of the taught practical content and the context in which the learning happened. This was followed by semi-structured interviews with 4 training instructors, with results indicating preferred course content to digitise, early concepts for gamification, and the storyline of the gamified content with respect to existing training. Using the data and experience gained from the contextual design approach and interviews, a paper prototype of the gamified AR application was developed and feedback was obtained from the company technical director. The paper prototype and feedback were used as a basis for developing a 3D prototype in VR using ShapesXR. This led to a VR workshop involving the technical director and training manager of the company where the 3D prototype was demonstrated and discussed. The workshop resulted in the flow of the overall application being refined including the storyline, gamification, training, and challenges. The design process aims to facilitate the development of a coded working prototype for SwageXR, with gamification elements such as score, time-based challenges and leaderboards. An initial experience playtest with course trainees will then be possible to gain insight on engagement levels and trainee attitudes about the initial game experience.This paper contributes to the field of game-based learning by providing a case study in design and development of a gamified AR industrial training application, which aims to enhance engagement of trainees

Parametric Surfaces for Augmented Architecture representation

Augmented Reality (AR) represents a growing communication channel, responding to the need to expand reality with additional information, offering easy and engaging access to digital data. AR for architectural representation allows a simple interaction with 3D models, facilitating spatial understanding of complex volumes and topological relationships between parts, overcoming some limitations related to Virtual Reality. In the last decade different developments in the pipeline process have seen a significant advancement in technological and algorithmic aspects, paying less attention to 3D modeling generation. For this, the article explores the construction of basic geometries for 3D model’s generation, highlighting the relationship between geometry and topology, basic for a consistent normal distribution. Moreover, a critical evaluation about corrective paths of existing 3D models is presented, analysing a complex architectural case study, the virtual model of Villa del Verginese, an emblematic example for topological emerged problems. The final aim of the paper is to refocus attention on 3D model construction, suggesting some "good practices" useful for preventing, minimizing or correcting topological problems, extending the accessibility of AR to people engaged in architectural representation

Human factor in industry of the future - Knowledge acquisition and motivation

Industry of the future bases on people knowledge, creativeness and motivations. Although, the number of workers needed in factories of the future decreases, the requiremenets concerning employees skills have been increasing. The knowledge of employees determines the factory system quality and efficiency. The motivation of people determines continuous improvement and development realized by problems identification and elimination. Hence, adequate learning methods are required to be implemented to achieve the following goals: empower and motivate people. This paper presents chosen methods such as learning by doing, computer simulations and virtual reality which support knowledge acquisition by people being prepared for work in factories of the future. The presented methods also increase employee awareness concerning possibilities of improvements

Augmenting Reality with Intelligent Interfaces

It is clear that our daily reality will increasingly interface with virtual inputs. We already integrate the virtual into real life through constantly evolving sensor technologies embedded into our smartphones, digital assistants, and connected devices. Simultaneously, we seek more virtual input into our reality through intelligent interfaces for the applications that these devices can run in a context rich, socially connected, and personalized way. As we progress toward a future of ubiquitous Augmented Reality (AR) interfaces, it will be important to consider how this technology can best serve the various populations that can benefit most from the addition of these intelligent interfaces. This paper proposes a new terminological framework to discuss the way AR interacts with users. An intelligent interface that combines digital objects in a real-world context can be referred to as a Pose-Interfaced Presentation (PIP): Pose refers to user location and orientation in space; Interfaced means that the program responds to a user’s intention and actions in an intelligent way; and Presentation refers to the virtual object or data being layered onto the perceptive field of the user. Finally, various benefits of AR are described and examples are provided in the areas of education, worker training, and ESL learning

Measuring the effectiveness of virtual training : a systematic review

The amount of research on virtual reality learning tools increases with time. Despite the diverse environments and theoretical foundations, enough data have been accumulated in recent years to provide a systematic review of the methods used. We pose ten questions concerning the methodological aspects of these studies. We performed a search in three databases according to the PRISMA guidelines and evaluated several characteristics, with particular emphasis on researchers' methodological decisions. We found an increase over time in the number of studies on the effectiveness of VR-based learning. We also identified shortcomings related to how the duration and number of training sessions are reported. We believe that these two factors could affect the effectiveness of VR-based training. Furthermore, when using the Kirkpatrick model, a significant imbalance can be observed in favor of outcomes from the ‘Reaction’ and ‘Learning’ levels compared to the ‘Behavior’ and ‘Results’ levels. The last of these was not used in any of the 330 reviewed studies. These results highlight the importance of research on the effectiveness of VR training. Taking into account the identified methodological shortcomings will allow for more significant research on this topic in the future

Mixed Reality Improves Education and Training in Assembly Processes

Mixed reality is the outcome of blending the physical world with the digital world, made possible by technological advancement. Mixed reality is the next evolution in human, computer, and environment interaction. Augmented reality (AR) uses a virtual model of the real world, augmented by using a computer to see the real environment through a special display device. Current education and training systems in the engineering maintenance field are still insufficiently directed at the psychomotor skills in learning about machine parts, which makes them less effective for trainees. The oil and gas industry always face problems related to inefficiency due to downtime of critical equipment. This study was conducted at designing and developing a virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) system as a learning and training platform. This work also reviewed AR applications for machine part maintenance and assembly. An AR system was modelled and developed using the following software: CATIA, Blender, Unity and Vuforia. The effectiveness of using the AR technique in an education and training process was evaluated with 20 respondents among university students. The results showed that using this AR app enhanced the participant's understanding according to certain criteria and can be adopted as a learning method