Technical Staff Training in Ultrasonic Non-Destructive Testing Using Virtual Reality

Abstract

The training process in ultrasonic testing (UT) techniques is usually developed in highly specialized environments, which are not easy to access. The complexity of the application of the data collection protocol in the UT and the interpretation of the results, makes the development of new training methods suitable. Thus, a systematic design methodology is presented in this paper, which is based on digital animation techniques and videogame design (virtual reality). The aim of this proposal is to reinforce the training of non-destructive testing (NDT) technicians, while at the same time the cost are reduced and the efficiency of training process is increased. The proposed design allows the generation of ad-hoc environments for different training purposes in NDT. This way, the whole strategy is presented in this paper, as well as the method applied for generating a UT virtual laboratory of low computational cost that allows user a total interaction. In addition, this virtual laboratory involves a hybridization with the purely theoretical contents of training and presents the possibility of being implemented in in e-learning platforms. Key words: Non-Destructive Testing (NDT), Ultrasonic testing (UT), Virtual Reality, Systematic Design, Virtual Laboratories.

The Technological Obsolescence of Virtual Reality Learning Environments

“…with the passage of VRLE-1 to VRLE-2). In the authors' opinion, the invariability of such KPIs (ease of use and usefulness) is mainly due to two main factors: (i) the majority of students are used to using this type of virtual environment since they are very similar to video games and (ii) all the participating students in this study had used in the past, or were using at that time, other VRLEs in the classroom as tools that supported their master classes [26,27,33,35,37,38,52,54], hence students were familiar with their use as they had proven to be useful tools.…”

“…The VRLE-2 systems (Figure 4) are non-immersive VR-based applications that also run on a personal computer, are controlled by a keyboard and a mouse, and are displayed on a monitor. These VRLEs allow users to explore the virtual environment in a similar way as he/she would do in a first-person shooter video game [51,52]. Since these later versions were developed with more modern tools, the VRLE-2 systems have a considerable improvement in both their visual appearance and interactivity.…”

Short CFD Simulation Activities in the Context of Fluid-Mechanical Learning in a Multidisciplinary Student Body

“…Teaching this concept in a laboratory using experimental equipment is often expensive because some sophisticated stations and instruments are required [1]. Taking into account the high economic cost of the specific instrumentation, the amount of time spent doing the experimental tasks with the students, and operational limitations (e.g., presence of large groups of students) justifies the creation of virtual laboratory resources to support teaching activities [18]. These initiatives share many objectives with respect to simulation activities, insofar as they replace or complement experimental laboratory lessons.…”

“…The learning activity was designed through a deep reflection under three important criteria, which were established as a reference for the creation of the learning resources and virtual models for the activity: Quality, economy and reality criteria [15]. These were established in the literature for the virtual environments [18,29,30] and, as has been previously indicated, the authors consider that simulation tasks share objectives and needs with respect to virtual laboratories: The common mission to provide to the student a practical vision about the physical phenomena without using, or complementing, a real laboratory for experimental tasks. According to the reality criterion, the activity is intended to be clear enough to simulate a real behavior of the fluid with adequate visualization results, based on the study of trajectories or particles, as well as maps of the distribution of different variables.…”

“…The questions are shown in Table 4. The response type is yes/no for the three first questions and for the rest a Likert scale is used [18,29,30]. For the analysis, each question was grouped into one of the categories described in Table 5.…”