RAPID CITY, S.D. (June 29, 2017) – The South
Dakota School of Mines & Technology has received a new mobile computing
grant to develop and bring augmented or mixed reality into the classroom.
Classical virtual reality is an immersive, virtual environment which is not
ideal for the classroom. Newer augmented
reality devices can overlay objects on a user’s actual surroundings, allowing
students to collaborate with each other and interact with faculty and virtual
objects in real time. In addition, virtual reality can cause motion sickness
with extended use, whereas augmented reality allows for prolonged sessions
before motion sickness or eye fatigue sets in.
The grant has
the potential to allow:
- Civil engineering
students to see an X-ray view of a building, stripping away the walls and roof
to see plumbing, electrical or HVAC components and how all of those the
components interact
- Math students to
visualize complicated 3-D objects and move them in space
- Industrial
engineering students to draw on engineering designs and set up virtual assembly
lines to figure out how to mass-produce objects in a factory setting
- Computer science
students to “see” from a robot’s perspective and test things like navigation
without the need for an actual, expensive robot
- Mechanical
engineering students to gain greater understanding of the design of 3-D objects
and why certain designs are effective
- Humanities students to
see literature come to life, explore virtual museums, and visualize the parts
of their essays as 3-D blocks in order to think about essays’ shape
- All students to 3-D
print complicated parts virtually, for drones or a Baja car for example, before
actually printing them, to see how all the parts fit together
The first phase of the grant will
include purchasing the gear, such as Microsoft’s Hololens, and
developing the technology to ensure standardized performance, meaning the
augmented reality application works on all platforms and software – Android and
iOS devices, as well as industry-specific software like Maple or SolidWorks.
Phase two will bring the augmented reality
into the classroom. Augmented reality tags – like a QR code – can then be
embedded in notebooks, textbooks or on paper on classroom desks to allow
students to see the objects through their phone or viewing device.
Faculty Ph.Ds. on the grant include:
Principal investigator Jeff McGough, math and computer science, and
co-principal investigators Shaobo Huang, mechanical
engineering, Christer Karlsson, math and computer science, Adam Piper,
industrial engineering, and Brent Deschamp, math and computer science.