Enhancing The Engineering Design Process With A Virtual Reality Vrml World

The design process begins with careful investigation of a problem and how the specific design will address that problem. Access to the environment under study is necessary throughout the design process however access is often impossible or impractical. In engineering education the need for students to have access to the environment under study is critical as they develop in their understanding of the design process and use of design tools. Access to these design environments, however, is generally more difficult in education. An interactive virtual reality VRML world was developed to open the door to some of these environments and enables investigation and interaction in such a way that the entire design process can be carried out on the computer. The VRML world has been used in an Engineering Graphics Course to teach the design process and the use of Pro-Engineer. The VRML world is a Roman encampment against an enemy fortress. Students are charged with the task of capturing the fortress occupied by the enemy through the design of siege weapons using Pro-Engineer. The Roman encampment is populated with soldiers that teach computer-aided design. The virtual world allows for interaction with other students, the instructor and lab assistants, and occasional visitors from outside the university. The Roman VRML world was designed for adaptability and served as a template for other virtual environments including a virtual international space station. The initial impact on the Engineering Graphics course and the methods used to develop the virtual world are described. A web-based faculty development resource is described that is available to assist in the development of like materials and as a repository for developed materials. The Design Process Engineering Graphics is an excellent course for introducing freshman-engineering students to the design process since it plays an integral role in the process of design. Several key aspects of the design process, however, are often missing or greatly abbreviated in student design projects for practical considerations. The first step of the design process is to clearly identify the problem. This is done through careful investigation of the environment. In the engineering graphics course students are challenged to design a catapult that could be used in the siege of a third century enemy fortress using tools and materials available at the time. A visit to the third century fortress would yield many insights into the necessary design requirements and would help students understand the importance of investigation prior to the generation of solutions. Some of the observations that students could make from such a visit are the terrain around the fortress, the height and strength of the walls, and the width and strength of the bridge that must be crossed to reach the fortress. Obviously students cannot visit third century Europe. Other design projects could be selected, however there are often constraints such as cost, location, or time that also prohibit careful investigation of the environment under study. One of the final steps of the design process is to implement the design and see the solution put P ge 819.1 Figure 1. VRML Roman world used in Engineering Graphics course. into effect. This step of the design process is also generally missing or abbreviated from student design projects. This, however, can be one of the most rewarding steps of the design process as students see their ideas actually put to use. Not only is this a step in the design process that students should be familiar with it is an important step in the process of effective learning. In the book How People Learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school (Bransford et al) the authors introduce the importance of anchored learning where learning is centered around a challenge. The idea of anchored learning has spawned the legacy learning cycle which emphasizes the importance of “going public”. Knowing that their ideas are entering the public realm and will be compared, reviewed, and critiqued are an essential motivator. VRML The virtual reality modeling language, VRML, opens the door to investigation and interactivity and facilitates simulation of the entire design process on the computer. The virtual world allows students to thoroughly investigate the environment and develop appropriate design criteria based on observations. It may also be used as a mechanism for simulating the implementation of designs and provides a platform for presenting designs in the public realm and receiving feedback. The virtual world can be easily accessed through a plug in on an Internet browser. A Roman world was created in VRML to create an environment for students to learn, explore, and present ideas. The world shown in Figure 1 consists of an enemy fortress and an encampment called the training camp where forces are being built in preparation for a siege against the fortress. The enemy fortress is a walled city with over sixty residences. After the successful siege, students will occupy the fortress and take up residence in one of the homes in the walled city. The students enter the virtual world as a new recruit in the Roman army to receive training in the building of catapults using Pro-Engineer. At the end of their training, they will work in small groups to design and build their own catapult. The catapults will be constructed in Pro-Engineer and saved as VRML models that will be imported and used in the siege of the fortress. After the