Teaching design project in introductory engineering course using 3D modeling and immersive virtual reality

Abstract

This paper presents a new approach for delivering the project component in introductory engineering course. The approach is based on using 3D modeling software to create the prototype of the product. Furthermore, immersive VR display were utilized to enable the students to explore and inspect their design in different stages and discover the problems in the design. The approach enabled the students to get perception of their design and interact with the model from different angle and navigate around which gave them closer look at the design that usually impossible using the traditional 2D display. The results showed that the VR approach increased the attainment of the students in the project.