A Design-based Approach to Enhancing Technical Drawing Skills in Design and Engineering Education using VR and AR Tools

There are concerns from higher education (HE) institutions and industry about the decline in standards of technical drawings (TDs) due to the lack of understanding of basic geometric construction and the conventions of drafting skills that underpin the best practices. There is growing evidence that simulations/animations along with augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) technologies can improve learners’ engagement, competence, and skills; especially when compared to traditional didactic methods. However, this approach to teaching and learning (T&L) is difficult when studied at distance, or without access to the appropriate technologies to carry out the suggested activities. Leading to the need to develop appropriate methods and content that suit this pedagogical problem. This paper describes the development of an AR/VR application to support the T&L of design and engineering students in education and industry. Using a multi-disciplinary design-based research methodology, this European (UK, Bulgaria, Turkey) funded research project combines pedagogy and technology to approach TDs education problems; and to develop an AR/VR education solution to address learning difficulties within the different critical TDs categories identified. This development is based on findings from an international study in three different categories covering the perception of TDs education, assessing of TDs knowledge and ability, and expectations of TDs education. This research project also covers the difficulties and good practices of multi-disciplinary teams for developing TDs and AR/VR contents where the approaches to T&L may differ between practices.