The use of virtual reality technology in teaching environmental engineering

The Open University (OU) provides a Diploma in Pollution control as part of its undergraduate degree programme. The courses that make up the Diploma are presented in distance learning format using the OU's supported open learning system that has been developed over several decades. Teaching environmental engineering by distance learning presents several challenges in terms of ensuring that students gain an appreciation of the technology in action and receive the motivation and support more-readily available to students taught in a campus setting. The OU has developed a multi-media resources DVD to help meet these challenges for students undertaking an environmental impact assessment project. The DVD contains virtual reality views of the proposed site, maps of the region, supporting technical data, interviews with experts and advice from a virtual tutor. A survey of students using the DVD found that the overwhelming majority found the DVD to be 'very useful' or 'useful'. Understandably, the material that is essential for completing the project received the highest rating, but the background material was still considered to be useful by most students. Similar resources could benefit all students in many areas of engineering and technology

Cloud-Based Collaborative 3D Modeling to Train Engineers for the Industry 4.0

In the present study, Autodesk Fusion 360 software (which includes the A360 environment) is used to train engineering students for the demands of the industry 4.0. Fusion 360 is a tool that unifies product lifecycle management (PLM) applications and 3D-modeling software (PDLM—product design and life management). The main objective of the research is to deepen the students’ perception of the use of a PDLM application and its dependence on three categorical variables: PLM previous knowledge, individual practices and collaborative engineering perception. Therefore, a collaborative graphic simulation of an engineering project is proposed in the engineering graphics subject at the University of La Laguna with 65 engineering undergraduate students. A scale to measure the perception of the use of PDLM is designed, applied and validated. Subsequently, descriptive analyses, contingency graphical analyses and non-parametric analysis of variance are performed. The results indicate a high overall reception of this type of experience and that it helps them understand how professionals work in collaborative environments. It is concluded that it is possible to respond to the demand of the industry needs in future engineers through training programs of collaborative 3D modeling environments

Web-Based Roadway Geometry Design Software for Transportation Education

Traditionally, students use pencil and ruler to lay out lines and curves over contour maps for roadway geometry design. Numerous calculations of stopping sight distance, minimum turning radius, and curve alignments are required during the roadway design process in order to ensure safety, to minimize economic and environmental impacts, as well as to reduce construction costs. Iterative computations during the design process are usually performed manually by the students in order to meet any given design criteria and environmental constraints. The traditional design process of roadway geometry design is often cumbersome and time consuming. It limits students from taking a broader perspective on the overall roadway design process. An Internet-based roadway design tool (ROAD: Roadway Online Application for Design) was developed to enhance the learning experience for transportation engineering students. This tool allows students to efficiently design and to easily modify the roadway design with given economic and environmental parameters. A 3D roadway geometry model can be generated by the software at final design to allow students immerse themselves in the driver’s seat and drive through the designed roadway at maximum design speed. This roadway geometry design tool was deployed and tested in a civil engineering undergraduate class in spring 2006 at University of Minnesota, Department of Civil Engineering. Feedback was collected from instructors and students that will lead to additional enhancements of the roadway design software.

Material Thermal Inputs of Iowa Materials for MEPDG, 2011

The thermal properties of concrete materials, such as coeffi cient of thermal expansion (CTE), thermal conductivity, and heat capacity, are required by the MEPDG program as the material inputs for pavement design. However, a limited amount of test data is available on the thermal properties of concrete in Iowa. The default values provided by the MEPDG program may not be suitable for Iowa concrete, since aggregate characteristics have signifi cant infl uence on concrete thermal properties

A virtual environment for the design and simulated construction of prefabricated buildings

The construction industry has acknowledged that its current working practices are in need of substantial improvements in quality and efficiency and has identified that computer modelling techniques and the use of prefabricated components can help reduce times, costs, and minimise defects and problems of on-site construction. This paper describes a virtual environment to support the design and construction processes of buildings from prefabricated components and the simulation of their construction sequence according to a project schedule. The design environment can import a library of 3-D models of prefabricated modules that can be used to interactively design a building. Using Microsoft Project, the construction schedule of the designed building can be altered, with this information feeding back to the construction simulation environment. Within this environment the order of construction can be visualised using virtual machines. Novel aspects of the system are that it provides a single 3-D environment where the user can construct their design with minimal user interaction through automatic constraint recognition and view the real-time simulation of the construction process within the environment. This takes this area of research a step forward from other systems that only allow the planner to view the construction at certain stages, and do not provide an animated view of the construction process

Past, present and future of information and knowledge sharing in the construction industry: Towards semantic service-based e-construction

The paper reviews product data technology initiatives in the construction sector and provides a synthesis of related ICT industry needs. A comparison between (a) the data centric characteristics of Product Data Technology (PDT) and (b) ontology with a focus on semantics, is given, highlighting the pros and cons of each approach. The paper advocates the migration from data-centric application integration to ontology-based business process support, and proposes inter-enterprise collaboration architectures and frameworks based on semantic services, underpinned by ontology-based knowledge structures. The paper discusses the main reasons behind the low industry take up of product data technology, and proposes a preliminary roadmap for the wide industry diffusion of the proposed approach. In this respect, the paper stresses the value of adopting alliance-based modes of operation

Teaching Construction in the Virtual University: the WINDS project

This paper introduces some of the Information Technology solutions adopted in Web based INtelligent Design Support (WINDS) to support education in A/E/C design. The WINDS project WINDS is an EC-funded project in the 5th Framework, Information Society Technologies programme, Flexible University key action. WINDS is divided into two actions: ·The research technology action is going to implement a learning environment integrating an intelligent tutoring system, a computer instruction management system and a set of co-operative supporting tools. ·The development action is going to build a large knowledge base supporting Architecture and Civil Engineering Design Courses and to experiment a comprehensive Virtual School of Architecture and Engineering Design. During the third year of the project, more than 400 students all over Europe will attend the Virtual School. During the next three years the WINDS project will span a total effort of about 150 man-years from 28 partners of 10 European countries. The missions of the WINDS project are: Advanced Methodologies in Design Education. WINDS drives a breakdown with conventional models in design education, i.e. classroom or distance education. WINDS implements a problem oriented knowledge transfer methodology following Roger Schank's Goal Based Scenario (GBS) pedagogical methodology. GBS encourages the learning of both skills and cases, and fosters creative problem solving. Multidisciplinary Design Education. Design requires creative synthesis and open-end problem definition at the intersection of several disciplines. WINDS experiments a valuable integration of multidisciplinary design knowledge and expertise to produce a high level standard of education. Innovative Representation, Delivery and Access to Construction Education. WINDS delivers individual education customisation by allowing the learner access through the Internet to a wide range of on-line courses and structured learning objects by means of personally tailored learning strategies. WINDS promotes the 3W paradigm: learn What you need, Where you want, When you require. Construction Practice. Construction industry is a repository of ""best practices"" and knowledge that the WINDS will profit. WINDS system benefits the ISO10303 and IFC standards to acquire knowledge of the construction process directly in digital format. On the other hand, WINDS reengineers the knowledge in up-to-date courses, educational services, which the industries can use to provide just-in-time rather than in-advance learning. WINDS IT Solutions The missions of the WINDS project state many challenging requirements both in knowledge and system architecture. Many of the solutions adopted in these fields are innovative; others are evolution of existing technologies. This paper focuses on the integration of this set of state-of-the-art technologies in an advanced and functionally sound Computer Aided Instruction system for A/E/C Design. In particular the paper deals with the following aspects: Standard Learning Technology Architecture The WINDS system relies on the in progress IEEE 1484.1 Learning Technology Standard Architecture. According to this standard the system consists of two data stores, the Knowledge Library and the Record Database, and four process: System Coach, Delivery, Evaluation and the Learner. WINDS implements the Knowledge Library into a three-tier architecture: 1.Learning Objects: ·Learning Units are collections of text and multimedia data. ·Models are represented in either IFC or STEP formats. ·Cases are sets of Learning Units and Models. Cases are noteworthy stories, which describes solutions, integrate technical detail, contain relevant design failures etc. 2.Indexes refer to the process in which the identification of relevant topics in design cases and learning units takes place. Indexing process creates structures of Learning Objects for course management, profile planning procedures and reasoning processes. 3.Courses are taxonomies of either Learning Units or a design task and Course Units. Knowledge Representation WINDS demonstrates that it is possible and valuable to integrate a widespread design expertise so that it can be effectively used to produce a high level standard of education. To this aim WINDS gathers area knowledge, design skills and expertise under the umbrellas of common knowledge representation structures and unambiguous semantics. Cases are one of the most valuable means for the representation of design expertise. A Case is a set of Learning Units and Product Models. Cases are noteworthy stories, which describe solutions, integrate technical details, contain relevant design failures, etc. Knowledge Integration Indexes are a medium among different kind of knowledge: they implement networks for navigation and access to disparate documents: HTML, video, images, CAD and product models (STEP or IFC). Concept indexes link learning topics to learning objects and group them into competencies. Index relationships are the base of the WINDS reasoning processes, and provide the foundation for system coaching functions, which proactively suggest strategies, solutions, examples and avoids students' design deadlock. Knowledge Distribution To support the data stores and the process among the partners in 10 countries efficiently, WINDS implements an object oriented client/server as COM objects. Behind the DCOM components there is the Dynamic Kernel, which dynamically embodies and maintains data stores and process. Components of the Knowledge Library can reside on several servers across the Internet. This provides for distributed transactions, e.g. a change in one Learning Object affects the Knowledge Library spread across several servers in different countries. Learning objects implemented as COM objects can wrap ownership data. Clear and univocal definition of ownerships rights enables Universities, in collaboration with telecommunication and publisher companies, to act as "education brokers". Brokerage in education and training is an innovative paradigm to provide just-in-time and personally customised value added learning knowledg

Discrete event simulation and virtual reality use in industry: new opportunities and future trends

This paper reviews the area of combined discrete event simulation (DES) and virtual reality (VR) use within industry. While establishing a state of the art for progress in this area, this paper makes the case for VR DES as the vehicle of choice for complex data analysis through interactive simulation models, highlighting both its advantages and current limitations. This paper reviews active research topics such as VR and DES real-time integration, communication protocols, system design considerations, model validation, and applications of VR and DES. While summarizing future research directions for this technology combination, the case is made for smart factory adoption of VR DES as a new platform for scenario testing and decision making. It is put that in order for VR DES to fully meet the visualization requirements of both Industry 4.0 and Industrial Internet visions of digital manufacturing, further research is required in the areas of lower latency image processing, DES delivery as a service, gesture recognition for VR DES interaction, and linkage of DES to real-time data streams and Big Data sets

Engaging Undergraduate Students in Transportation Studies through Simulating Transportation for Realistic Engineering Education and Training (STREET)

The practice of transportation engineering and planning has evolved substantially over the past several decades. A new paradigm for transportation engineering education is required to better engage students and deliver knowledge. Simulation tools have been used by transportation professionals to evaluate and analyze the potential impact of design or control strategy changes. Conveying complex transportation concepts can be effectively achieved by exploring them through simulation. Simulation is particularly valuable in transportation education because most transportation policies and strategies in the real world take years to implement with a prohibitively high cost. Transportation simulation allows learners to apply different control strategies in a risk-free environment and to expose themselves to transportation engineering methodologies that are currently in practice. Despite the advantages, simulation, however, has not been widely adopted in the education of transportation engineering. Using simulation in undergraduate transportation courses is sporadic and reported efforts have been focused on the upper-level technical elective courses. A suite of web-based simulation modules was developed and incorporated in the undergraduate transportation courses at University of Minnesota. The STREET (Simulating Transportation for Realistic Engineering Education and Training) research project was recently awarded by NSF (National Science Foundation) to develop web-based simulation modules to improve instruction in transportation engineering courses and evaluate their effectiveness. Our ultimate goal is to become the epicenter for developing simulation-based teaching materials, an active textbook, which offers an interactive learning environment to undergraduate students. With the hand-on nature of simulation, we hope to improve student understanding of critical concepts in transportation engineering and student motivation toward transportation engineering, and improve student retention in the field. We also would like to disseminate the results and teaching materials to other colleges to integrate the simulation modules in their curricula.Transportation Education and Training, Transportation Simulation, Roadway Geometry Design