Content area
This study compares immersive VR-based control systems with conventional keyboard-based control to examine the efficacy of VR interfaces for controlling robotic arms in Internet of Things (IoT) education. A 5-DOF robotic arm with MG996R servomotors and controlled by an Arduino microcontroller and Raspberry Pi wireless communication was operated by 31 third-year engineering students in hands-on experiments using both control modalities. To determine student preferences across in-person, online, and hybrid learning contexts, the study applied a mixed-methods approach that combined qualitative evaluation using open-ended questionnaires and quantitative analysis through Likert-scale surveys. First, it should be mentioned that most of the reported papers either use a robotic arm or a VR system in education. However, we are among the first to report a combination of the two. Secondly, in most cases, there are either technical papers or educational quantitative/qualitative research papers on existing technologies reported in the literature. We combine an innovative education context (robotic arm and VR), completed with a quantitative and qualitative study, making it a complete experiment. Lastly, combining qualitative with quantitative research that complement each other is an innovative aspect in itself in this field.
Details
Qualitative research;
Quantitative analysis;
Augmented reality;
Kinematics;
Simulation;
Software;
Students;
Teaching methods;
Curricula;
Instructional design;
Internet;
Robots;
Engineering;
Foreign language learning;
Education;
Learning environment;
Virtual reality;
Internet of Things;
Robotics;
Educational systems;
Experiments;
Interfaces;
Efficacy;
Control systems;
Educational research;
Wireless communication systems;
Innovations;
Learning
; Emilia-Oana, Mîș 1
; Rusu Dinu-Ștefan 1
; Ioan-Alexandru, Bratosin 1
; Alexandru-Filip, Popovici 2
; Popovici Ramona 2 ; Goga Nicolae 1 ; Goga, Maria 3 ; Laurențiu-Nicolae, Pomană 1 ; Cosmin-Andrei, Bordea 1 ; Popescu Bianca 1 ; Antonio-Valentin, Stan 1 ; Răzvan-Florin, Neacșu 1 1 Department of Engineering in Foreign Languages, National University of Science and Technology Politehnica Bucharest, 060042 Bucharest, Romania; [email protected] (E.-O.M.); [email protected] (D.-Ș.R.); [email protected] (I.-A.B.); [email protected] (N.G.); [email protected] (L.-N.P.); [email protected] (C.-A.B.); [email protected] (B.P.); [email protected] (A.-V.S.); [email protected] (R.-F.N.)
2 Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Bucharest, 050663 Bucharest, Romania; [email protected] (A.-F.P.); [email protected] (R.P.)
3 Department for the Training of Teaching Staff, Technical University of Civil Engineering of Bucharest, 020396 Bucharest, Romania; [email protected]