Virtual Reality in Engineering
- June 9, 2023
- Enterprise, VR
Exploring the Benefits of Virtual Reality in Engineering
Virtual reality (VR) is increasingly and extensively used in various industries, including engineering. Engineers use virtual reality in product design, prototyping, testing, and training. In this article, we will explore the benefits of virtual reality for engineering and how it is revolutionizing how engineers work.
What is Virtual Reality?
Virtual reality is an advanced technology that creates a computer-generated environment that simulates a user’s presence by simulating as many senses as possible, including sight, hearing, and physical motion or touch.
Virtual reality technology is used in engineering to create immersive simulations, allowing engineers to visualize and test their designs in a virtual environment. This technology is revolutionizing the engineering industry, making it possible to develop more efficient and effective products while reducing costs and improving safety.
How Virtual Reality is Applied in Engineering
Virtual reality is used in civil engineering to simulate the behavior of structures under different loads and conditions. By creating a virtual model of a structure, engineers can test its strength and durability before construction begins.
For example, VR can allow engineers and municipalities to test a structure’s resiliency against future extreme weather, such as hurricanes or tornadoes. This can help prevent costly mistakes and ensure that structures are safe and reliable.
In mechanical engineering, virtual reality simulates the behavior of machines and mechanical systems. This technology allows engineers to test and optimize designs before building physical prototypes, reducing costs and improving efficiency.
Architectural engineers also use virtual reality to create immersive simulations of buildings and structures. By creating a virtual model of a building, architects can test different design options and visualize how the building will look and function in the real world. This technology is helping architects create more sustainable, efficient, and aesthetically pleasing buildings, allowing them to showcase their designs to potential clients without creating expensive physical mockups.
Overall, virtual reality is transforming the engineering industry, making it possible to design, test, and optimize products and structures in a virtual environment.
VR is improving efficiency, reducing costs, and improving safety.
Enhanced Design and Visualization
One of the most significant benefits of virtual reality for engineering is enhancing design and visualization. Engineers can now create immersive 3D models of their designs using VR technology. This has significantly improved the design process, reducing the time and resources required to create a perfect prototype.
Virtual Reality: Immersive 3D Modeling
Creating accurate and detailed 3D models of engineering designs is essential. VR technology provides an immersive representation of 3D models, making it easier for engineers to visualize the final product’s design, make necessary changes, and develop a more accurate and detailed design. Engineers can explore every aspect of a product, from every angle and in various conditions they choose. This has significantly improved the accuracy and precision of engineering designs.
“In the real world, it’s difficult to fly around an object other than using a drone, but in a virtual environment, once data are collected, we can inspect any structure, inside or outside, and zoom in and out at our wish,” said Hui ‘Jack’ Wang, University of Dayton assistant professor for civil and environmental engineering and engineering mechanics.
Virtual Reality: Improved Collaboration and Communication
Virtual reality improves collaboration and communication between engineers, architects, and clients. They can now discuss their ideas and designs in a virtual environment, which is more efficient than paper drawings and mock-ups. Team members can visualize and interact with the design from anywhere, making it easier to make design changes quickly.
Virtual reality technology has also made it easier for engineers to collaborate with teams and stakeholders in different locations. Engineers can work on the same design in real-time, allowing for great collaboration and a more transparent view of milestones and progress.
Texas A&M has numerous active projects simultaneously happening at any given time. To keep all stakeholders updated on project quality and progress, they have turned to VR. Reconstruct, an XR development firm focused on architecture, engineering, and construction, has empowered Texas A&M to manage time-stamped documents, quality control, and stakeholder visibility on multiple projects by utilizing drone, 360 video, and laser scans.
Streamlined Prototyping and Testing
Virtual reality technology provides engineers with a streamlined prototyping and testing process, enabling them to identify and address design flaws early. This technology has revolutionized the way engineers approach product design and development.
Rapid Virtual Reality Prototyping
With virtual reality technology, engineers can create detailed virtual prototypes that look, feel, and act like finished products, allowing them to test for design flaws and make necessary improvements. While the cost of this process may seem high, it can often offset the time and resources required to create and test physical prototypes.
Additionally, VR equipment can be used repeatedly, meaning the cost-benefit ratio only improves over time. Virtual prototyping benefits complex products requiring extensive testing, evaluation, and adjustment before manufacturing.
During the development of the BMW iX, engineers could quickly test and present vehicle functions and interior concepts through virtual reality. This allowed development engineers to experience real-life road situations within their concept without creating an expensive prototype.
In a recent XR Industry Leaders podcast with Scott Burkey, Technology Fellow at WestRock, we compared VR prototypes with traditional physical prototypes.
Burkey said, “The number one benefit for us with virtual reality is that we’ve been able to cut down the number of physical prototypes we manufacture in design. We make thousands of glass, metal, and wood displays. If we can take one physical display design iteration out of the equation, we can save up to $20,000 in a physical prototype, and the shipping of that to our customer’s facility. The removal of one physical prototype for a customer can pay for our whole XR program.”
Identifying Design Flaws Early
Virtual reality technology also helps to identify potential design flaws before the final product is manufactured. VR empowers engineers to design and test in a virtual environment, allowing rapid testing. The ability to test rapidly, means that engineers can identify design issues and make the necessary changes much more quickly. This approach helps to minimize the risk of costly design flaws, and product recalls.
Groupe Beneteau, a worldwide market leader for boats, partnered with TechViz to create VR collaboration tools. With VR, engineers all over the world were able to work together in immersive rooms. This reduced the time it took for project review and design validation, as they could create immersive rooms where engineering offices could work together despite being positioned worldwide. Engineers were able to facilitate project reviews and speed up design validation processes.
“Since working with VR, we’ve been able to optimize radically our project review processes with our technical teams. Also, this has enabled us to introduce our marketing team very early in the process, right from the design phase.” Vincent Delannoy, IT Project Manager for Groupe Beneteau.
Advanced Training and Education
Virtual reality technology is a particularly valuable tool for training and education in engineering. Engineers can use virtual environments to simulate assembly lines, testing environments, and production lines, allowing trainees to gain experience in a safe and controlled environment.
Virtual Reality Simulations for Engineers
Virtual reality simulations help engineers to anticipate potential problems or equipment breakdowns in a controlled virtual environment, reducing the likelihood of accidents in a real-world environment. Simulated virtual environments can also provide invaluable training for emergency response scenarios.
Virtual reality simulations train engineers on difficult or dangerous procedures, such as working with hazardous materials or operating heavy machinery. By providing a safe and controlled environment for training, engineers can gain experience and confidence without putting themselves or others at risk.
Continuing Education and Skill Development
Engineers can use VR to continue their education and improve their skills. For instance, VR provides training solutions for new products or technologies, enabling engineers to learn and develop new skills.
Virtual reality can also simulate real-world scenarios that may be difficult or impossible to replicate in a traditional classroom setting. Research from Brunel University London’s College of Engineering proves that “…VR has positive cognitive and pedagogical benefits in engineering education, which ultimately improves the student’s understanding of the subjects, performance and grades, and education experience.”
Furthermore, virtual reality can provide engineers hands-on experience with new technologies, such as 3D printing or robotics. By using VR to simulate these technologies, engineers can learn how to use them effectively and efficiently before implementing them in a real-world environment.
Virtual reality technology is a powerful tool for training and education in engineering. From simulating dangerous scenarios to providing hands-on experience with new technologies, VR can help engineers to develop their skills and knowledge in a safe and controlled environment.
Increased Safety and Risk Management
Risk management is essential in engineering, and virtual reality technology is valuable in identifying and mitigating hazards and safety risks. With virtual reality technology, engineers can create simulations to help identify potential hazards and risks and develop solutions to reduce those risks.
One of the most significant advantages of using virtual reality technology for risk management is identifying potential hazards and risks before they become a problem. By creating a virtual environment that simulates real-life situations, engineers can test different scenarios and identify potential hazards and risks that may not have been apparent otherwise. This can help prevent accidents and injuries and ultimately save lives.
Hazard Identification and Mitigation
Virtual reality technology allows engineers to visualize and simulate potential safety hazards and risks, identify safety issues, and develop solutions to mitigate those risks. For example, Faculty members and graduate students from the American University in Cairo’s Department of Construction Engineering use VR to improve safety at construction sites. Their VR models offer hands-on safety training specific to the hazards of the construction world.
“Based on the results of our studies, the models we developed performed better in terms of visualization, immersion, realism, and ability to enhance the desired hazard identification and mitigation skills compared to traditional training programs,” Abotaleb stated. “The developed models are the first in the world to integrate adult learning theories abstracted from psychology into full training modules specialized in high-rise buildings and bridges.”
– Ibrahim Abotaleb, Assistant Professor of Construction Engineering
Another way that virtual reality technology can be used for hazard identification and mitigation is in the design of buildings and structures. Engineers can test designs and identify potential safety hazards and risks by creating virtual simulations of buildings and structures. This can help ensure that buildings and structures are designed to be as safe as possible, and can help prevent accidents and injuries.
Virtual Reality in Your Engineering Projects
Virtual reality brings meaningful benefits to the engineering field. The technology has streamlined design processes, improved collaboration, provided valuable training, and increased safety.
With the ever-growing applications of VR, it is easier than ever to find powerful VR content that can impact your engineering project today! If you want to launch or scale XR in engineering, ArborXR can help you deploy and manage your devices and content.
Need help getting started in XR? Reach out to us today for a demo and to get help planning a new deployment for your school or organization.
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