Didactic use of immersive virtual reality with NUI focused on the inspection of wind turbines

Abstract

Nowadays immersive virtual reality systems have a growing relevance in educational environments as tools to encourage learning through two important keys concepts: immersion and interaction. This paper describes the use of virtual reality systems in education, taking as a case study an immersive 3D virtual reality system with NUI developed for the purpose of facilitating the inspection of wind turbines for didactic purposes. The proposed system searches technological convergence of visualization devices, data acquisition tools and graphics software. To achieve this system a software development methodology of Pressman was followed. The qualitative results of a first evaluation at the system indicate that the proposal allows an immersive virtual reality experience offering a great similarity to the real environment, with the ability to interact through gestures and body movements. This helps to motivate learning and stimulate interest in practicing with this technology by users. Moreover, achieved technological convergence between visualization devices, interaction tools and graphics software, allows us to make a step forward in the development of this type of teaching tools.

Keywords

• immersive virtual reality
• educational technology
• virtual learning environments
• virtual educational tools