Digital Factory and Virtual Reality: Teaching Virtual Reality Principles with Game Engines

Abstract

Virtual reality (VR) is widely used in various industrial applications. All leading industrial manufacturing companies today have a strategy called the 'concept of a digital factory' where all aspects of manufacturing are digitally verified on digital mockups prior to physical manufacturing. Other than that, it is a rapidly developing new medium and further development of VR and IT will open up new possibilities. The new concept of Industry 4.0 is based on using approaches like the Internet of Things, Cloud Computing, Cyber-Physical Systems and Virtual Reality. With the decreasing cost of VR devices, even smaller businesses are able to implement such technologies. It is therefore crucial that mechanical engineering graduates are familiar with these new technologies and trends. We had to use unconventional methods to educate mechanical engineering students in the latest trends in IT and VR. Back in 2010, there were almost no tools available for teaching how to create industry-themed VR environments, which did not require complicated coding, so we decided to make our own. To simplify the development, we used Source Engine as the core and enhanced it with a library of textures, models and scripts we called DigiTov. Although Source Engine is a game engine, the master logic of VR development is the same as for professional SW products. In autumn 2015, a group of 10 students modified the DigiTov for Unity3D, forming a team made up of different roles.

Augmented Reality: Survey

“…Figure 4 summarizes in detail the types of devices that are used in each type of AR technology that was discussed in Section 3, including examples, demonstrative images, and some references used to extract the information from each of the AR devices. [45][46][47][48][49][50]. More details about some examples of AR devices whose technology is based on headsets and smart glasses are in [51][52][53], on handheld devices in [54,55], on projection-based systems in [56], on SAR in [57], on HUD in [58], and on AR contact lenses in [59,60].…”

“…Figure 4. Types of augmented reality devices and illustrative examples[45][46][47][48][49][50]. More details about some examples of AR devices whose technology is based on headsets and smart glasses are in[51][52][53], on handheld devices in[54,55], on projection-based systems in[56], on SAR in[57], on HUD in[58], and on AR contact lenses in[59,60].…”

A Case Study of Educational Games in Virtual Reality as a Teaching Method of Lean Management

“…In developing and evaluating his own game, he concluded that a serious game with the right combination of fun and learning is effective. According to Hořejší [2], it is necessary for graduates of mechanical engineering to be acquainted with the technologies of virtual and augmented reality, and to encounter unconventional methods of education that use game engines. Hořejší, together with his team, created a game for the field of industrial engineering, named DigiTov, using the source engine supplemented with their libraries of models and scripts.…”

“…In the industrial environment of the Slovak Republic, Industry 4.0 can be understood as an extensive transformation of the entire field of industrial production into a highly integrated value chain through the connection of digital technologies and robotics with conventional industry [1]. The Industry 4.0 concept is based on the use of the Internet of Things, cloud computing, cyber-physical systems, and the use of virtual reality [2]. Other core prerequisites for the implementation of Industry 4.0 are digitization and the digital factory.…”