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A Virtual Assembly System on Automobile Engine for Assembly Skills Training

Abstract

Virtual Reality (VR) is wildly used in education and training, commonly associated with its immersive, highly visual, three dimension (3D) environments. This paper presents a virtual assembly system on automobile engine based on VR and simulation techniques. In order to improve the effects of skills training and make the system more scientific, the author introduced cognitive psychology into the design process. This system can be used as a support tool for skills training in automobile engine assembly, providing learners with virtual experience as a supplement to inadequate and insufficient real-world hands-on experience in highly visual 3D environment.

Introduction

Since the National Research Council issued a study that spotlighted the need for universities to graduate engineers with professional skills1 in 1985, educators and researchers all over the world have made lots of efforts to promote development of engineering education.

As in China, evidence indicates that China has the largest number of engineering students, who are the reserve forces of future engineers; however, the quality of engineering education is quite low2. Come up with engineering undergraduates’ lack of hands-on experience, engineering practice teaching and hands-on learning3 have increasingly become the focus of engineering education 4. However, most of current training methods, paper-based manuals, video-based instructions and/or hands on master-apprentice training, can hardly solve the complicated engineering problem effectively.

Virtual Reality (VR) is a technology which allows a user to interact with computer-simulated environment. Recently, VR is wildly used in education and training, commonly associated with its immersive, highly visual, three dimension (3D) environments. As a new learning medium, VR can provide learners a hand-on experience with its interactive character, which can improve the learning performance effectively5. Practicing assembly tasks in the virtual environment helps facilitate training and aids in transferring that knowledge to real life. 6 At the same time, VR can effectively resolve the time, space and security constraints problems brought about by actual equipments.

This paper presents a Virtual Assembly System7-8 on Automobile Engine (AEVAS) based on VR and simulation techniques. This system aims to improve existing training methods by using a multidimensional, interactive virtual environment. The AEVAS is composed of the following four modules: Knowledge Room, Assembly Room, Expert Room and Checking Room. Knowledge Room provides 3D models and related details of the parts of the automobile engine so that the trainees can learn to recognize parts. It provides a necessary pre-knowledge for other three modules. Assembly Room mainly provides interactive 3D demonstration animations so that the trainees can remember assembly sequences, orients and positions; another function of this

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Cheng, X., & Chen, M., & Gu, R., & Weng, Y. (2010, June), A Virtual Assembly System On Automobile Engine For Assembly Skills Training Paper presented at 2010 Annual Conference & Exposition, Louisville, Kentucky. 10.18260/1-2--16385