Design and validation of an augmented book for spatial abilities development in engineering students

Abstract

This paper presents an application of augmented reality for improving spatial abilities of engineering students. An augmented book called AR-Dehaes has been designed to provide 3D virtual models that help students to perform visualization tasks to promote the development of their spatial ability during a short remedial course. A validation study with 24 Mechanical Engineering freshmen at La Laguna University (Spain) has concluded that the training had a measurable and positive impact on students' spatial ability. On the other hand, results obtained using a satisfaction questionnaire illustrate that AR-Dehaes is considered an easy to use, attractive, and very useful technique for students. AR-Dehaes has proved to be a very cost-effective tool insofar as it only required an ordinary PC with a webcam to be used. © 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.