Intensifying learner's experience by incorporating the virtual theatre into engineering education

Abstract

This work introduces the virtual theatre, a platform allowing free exploration of a virtual environment, as an instrument for engineering education. The virtual theatre features three main user components: a head mounted display, a data glove and an omnidirectional floor. These interfaces for perception, navigation and interaction allow for more realistic and intuitive experiences within environments which are inaccessible in the real world. This paper describes the technical properties of the platform as well as studies on human experiences and behavior. It moreover presents current and future applications within the field of engineering education and discusses the underlying didactic principles.