Disseminating Civil Engineering through Virtual Reality: An Immersive Interface

Abstract

The application of Immersive Virtual Reality (VR) interfaces has shown favourable results for Engineering Education. In fact, VR interfaces provide new practises for improving the transferability of knowledge and communication amongst users. The capacity of current game engines improved by the availability of 3D building models and their components greatly increases the feasibility of 3D scenarios. The present work includes a description of an immersive VR interface developed for prospective Civil Engineering students. An Immersive Virtual Environment (IVE) was developed to display construction elements in a highly visual environment, avoiding the steep learning curve of general modelling software tools. The interface is available online and can be tested using a Head Mounted Display and a VR ready computer. The interface has been developed to disseminate Civil Engineering amongst pre-university students, simultaneously providing new tools to harness students' interest for Information Technology applied to a specific field of study.