Augmented Reality Application in Vocational Education: A Case of Welding Training

Abstract

This paper embodies the need, design and evaluation of an AR welding mobile application highlighting the potential of mobile AR interactions. There are 36 million unemployed youth in India [6]. One of the reasons for unemployment among youth is the significant disconnect between the school education and the opportunities, skills, and exposure necessary to achieve full potential and earn livelihood [6]. Various NGOs have taken initiatives to introduce vocational training as a part of mainstream education to create employment opportunities for students from low-income backgrounds on completion of schooling. The secondary schools in which such training is imparted often face a lack of space and infrastructure, regulatory restrictions and safety concerns. The objective of this project was to innovate using Augmented Reality (AR) to overcome the spatial and safety barriers that affect the efficiency of these vocational training programs. An interactive learning module was designed using marker-based mobile AR to aid in providing the knowledge as well as learning the skills required for welding. This learning module was evaluated with expert welding instructors and accordingly proposed to be used in government schools providing vocational training in welding. This project opens up the possibility of designing safe and accessible ways to develop vocational skills.