Comparing Virtual Reality SDK Potentials for Engineering Education

Abstract

The paper at hand aims to help educators to grasp the potential and difficulties related to virtual reality hardware and software development kits when freshly starting off in the mixed reality realm. Therefore, it will present and compare major VR hardware devices and SDK’s potentials while considering individual features and advantages. As a common ground to judge the capabilities, a virtual test environment is created featuring common interactions needed in engineering education scenarios when interacting with virtual representation of technical equipment. The final verdict contains two main parts, one of which is the actual judgement of current VR SDK capabilities. The second part is a taxonomy with an overview over selection criteria and solution spaces when dealing with hardware choices.