Application of Augmented Reality for Distance Learning to Teach Manufacturing Engineering during COVID-19 Social Distancing

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has created a shift in all our lives, turning in-class traditional educational systems into distance learning systems. Since distance learning is inevitable nowadays, the hands-on experience from in-class, particularly in practical sessions, is lacking. While there is a wide range of tools and technologies to enrich the student learning experience, the application of Augmented Reality (AR) is remarkable. This paper proposes a mobile app assisted with AR technology aimed to support the engineering faculty students to enhance their knowledge regarding the lathe machine and lathe operations during this pandemic period. The application consists of the augmented content of the separate parts of the lathe machine, exploded view and augmented animated content of the operations. The objective of this AR app is to guide the students regarding machineries and operations, and to introduce AR technologies to the local universities as a step of enhancing digital education. The adaptability of the AR app was experienced and verified by 72 students and the responses and feedback revealed their interest towards this educational approach. Conclusively, this study shows the effectiveness and importance of AR application specially for Manufacturing Engineering field during this distance learning period.

Impact of Augmented Reality on Assistance and Training in Industry 4.0: Qualitative Evaluation and Meta-Analysis

“…Finally, virtual coaching and AR tutorials have recently emerged as innovative training tools. Within this framework, Alahakoon and Kulatunga [63] highlight how AR has enabled the delivery of remote manufacturing engineering education during the COVID-19 pandemic without compromising the quality and effectiveness of learning. Furthermore, AR has been demonstrated to be an invaluable tool in training operators with no or limited prior training to perform specialised tasks, as evidenced by the work of Chalhoub et al [65].…”

Leveraging Marker-based Augmented Reality to Enhance Simplified Representation Learning in Mechanical Drawing : A Practical Studies in The Mechanical Engineering Curriculum

“…Awuor developed a mobile AR that enables students to compare mechanical parts in a 3D model and its 3 views orthogonal projection then evaluated its use among vocational students (Awuor et al, 2022). In addition, AR applications were implemented in terms of training: machineries and operations (Alahakoon & Kulatunga, 2021;Hedenqvist, Romero, & Vinuesa, 2021;Scaravetti & François, 2021), and maintenance (M. Wang, Callaghan, Bernhardt, White, & Peña-Rios, 2018). Other works used markerless augmented reality and applied it in manufacturing and construction (Cheng, Wang, Tjondronegoro, & Song, 2018;Y.…”

Augmented Reality in Industry 4.0 Assistance and Training Areas: A Systematic Literature Review and Bibliometric Analysis

“…Technical training: Approaches such as that of Alahakoon and Kulatunga [100] explore the use of AR as a didactic tool. These methods evaluate the effectiveness of AR in enhancing the transfer of technical knowledge and practical skills through experimental studies that measure knowledge retention and the learning curves of participants.…”