Applicability of Augmented and Virtual Reality for Education in Robotics

Abstract

The rapid development of automatic control and robotics requires an innovative approach to teaching. This is especially important in the case of studies at the academic level and in vocational schools, where training with expensive robotic stations is necessary. A solution for the problem may be substituting these with augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) due to their significantly lower costs. Therefore, AR/VR technologies have an advantage in terms of low-cos and effective practice in robotics. The described content is an outcome of the MILAN project, wherein those technologies are used for the online course purpose. This includes providing access to virtual laboratories via a mobile application and the real-life training stations connected to the network. The paper provides an overview of the available AR/VR applications implemented into robotics education and a detailed description of related best practices. The main sections contain a detailed methodology of designing an AR mobile tool for learning robotics in the AR environment. Moreover, the main challenges encountered during the development phase were listed and analysed. Additionally, the paper presents the possible future use of the application with the associated benefits. The literature overview and conclusions may be used to design similar online courses with an interactive form of teaching practical industrial robots programming.