Immersive Virtual Reality Experiences for ME360 Mechanical Design

Overview

ME360, also known as machine design, is a course required for all mechanical engineering majors at Penn State. The course teaches students about the functionality of mechanical components, such as gears, shafts, and bearings. ME360 does not have a lab portion, meaning there is little “hands on” work involved. To address this issue, the team has been tasked with developing a virtual reality game that can give ME360 students an opportunity to learn about mechanical design in a unique, immersive way.

Objectives

– Educate students about gears, shafts, and bearings

– Create a meaningful and enjoyable learning experience

– Enhance the existing ME 360 game

– Study how students react to the game

Approach

– Researched last semesters progress with creating a virtual reality game for ME360

– Assess the required changes and what we wanted to enhance within the game

– Developed a storyline for the game that keeps it engaging and interesting

– Created tasks for each game level that related to the theme of each level, whilst also including gears, shafts and bearings

– Utilized Unity to world-build and Blender to design mechanical components found in ME360

– Held three demonstrations to test a range of students; this included non-mechanical engineers, mechanical engineers, and students currently studying ME360

– Meet with sponsors weekly to keep goals and ideas consistent

– Continuously implemented suggestions from students and our sponsors, as well as fixing bugs to finalize the game

Outcomes

– Gives students a better understanding behind components commonly seen in machine design, specifically gears, shafts, and bearings

– Our unique game narrative and tasks allow students to think beyond the scope of typical machine design problems

– Provides professors with the means to teach students more effectively

– Expand educational experiences by making them meaningful and enjoyable