Assessing Priorities in Engineering Design Through Augmented Reality

Abstract

This work in progress paper provides a background on how engineering students make priorities when it comes to performing engineering design. This study provides insight into how augmented reality (AR) can provide realistic scenarios that require students to make informed design decisions similar to those made in industry. The potential of AR as an engineering education tool, particularly in the context of preparing students for industry, cannot be overemphasized. One of the issues that students must face with transitioning into the industry is the application of school knowledge to their real-life practice. Engineering students are expected to think critically, come up with original solutions, and collaborate with other team members on projects. Often, traditional teaching methods are not enough to build these capacities in young engineers, which has led to the introduction of new instructional methods such as the incorporation of virtual reality as an authentic learning technique. Several authentic learning techniques have been used in the past to introduce students to virtual reality. While Virtual Reality (VR) substitutes reality, transporting you to a different environment, Augmented Reality enhances reality by superimposing information onto what is already visible. Augmented reality (AR) is a technology that blends computer-generated elements with live video in real-time hence, incorporating AR in authentic learning activity has the potential to help understand how users view the real world and make informed decisions to improve workplace decisions. This paper serves as a literature review for a larger study that investigates how engineering students set priorities in engineering design to assess their preparedness for industry. The larger study seeks to answer the following research questions: • How do students perceive their undergraduate education prepares them to set priorities in engineering design? • How do authentic learning activities through AR change the way students think about design? The objective of this research is to give students exposure into real-world practice to understand industry requirements even before they graduate from school. This paper will present a brief literature review on the topic, while more details about the methodology, results, and future directions will be presented in a future paper.