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Into the future Virtual and augmented reality (VR and AR) are the technologies of the day. Now they are to be better integrated into teaching.
While both technologies are used in daily life and leisure, they are rarely considered in the scope of higher education. Wrongly so, according to Hochschule Bonn-Rhein-Sieg. The university wants to anchor AR and VR permanently in teaching. “Teachers and students don’t have to be in the same room, but during a course – and this is the big advantage – the spatial impression of a 3D model can be perceived”, explains André Hinkenjann, Professor of Computer Graphics and Interactive Environments. For this reason, he and his colleagues are taking the lead in a unique project. The aim of “AR/VR.nrw – Augmented and Virtual Reality in Higher Education” is to develop software that will serve as a basic framework in the future. After its completion in 2021, the software will be available free of charge to all higher education institutes in NRW via an open source licence and will serve as both assistance and inspiration. AR and VR can thus become part of daily university life and enable teachers, even without extensive IT knowledge, to integrate virtual and augmented reality into their lectures and develop their own course content. As an example, Hinkenjann mentions “a teaching unit on the diffusion of light and lighting design. This requires three-dimensional models which can be visualised with the help of VR or AR glasses”. Experiments of this kind are conceivable in subjects such as electrical engineering, lighting technology, media technology or architecture.
Continuous development The hope is that in the future, universities outside NRW will also be inspired to research and teach in this field in order to continuously develop the key technologies AR and VR. It is also hoped that the open-source approach will encourage cooperation amongst researchers. “In addition, the open source idea aims at a continuous and differentiated refinement of software, features, applications and connection with future technologies”, explains Hinkenjann. Along with H-BRS, RWTH Aachen University, the University of Wuppertal and Hamm-Lippstadt University of Applied Sciences are also involved in developing the software. The project is receiving financial support from the NRW Ministry of Science in the amount of about 1.5 million euros for three years.
