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Effectiveness of Virtual Reality Simulations for Civilian, Ab Initio Pilot Training
... Recent research has failed to show a significant performance difference between trainee pilots using high fidelity VR flight training and those using 2D simulators (Hight et al., 2022), but it has been suggested that high fidelity tools may be more suitable to later stages of skill acquisition (Reder & Klatzky, 1994). ...
... Although some of the theory may suggest a benefit of high-fidelity VR training devices in terms of transfer of learning, there is a lack of clear evidence that high fidelity leads to learning advantages in flight training (Hight et al., 2022). Despite this, VR is now used in a variety of learning settings among college and school students as part of geography, science, and history curriculums. ...
... Given the numerous benefits that VR offers, it is clearly worthy of further research. Many recent studies in this area have stressed the need for appropriate testing of solutions (Harris et al., 2020) and further research into the exact effect VR has on trainee pilots (Fussell & Truong, 2020;Hight et al., 2022;Van Weelden et al., 2021). Similarly, there is a lack of studies comparing VR flight training devices to traditional simulators in terms of pass rates and effect on learning. ...
The introduction of virtual reality (VR) to flying training has recently gained much attention, with numerous VR companies, such as VRM Switzerland and VRpilot, looking to enhance the training process. Such a considerable change to how pilots are trained is a subject that warrants careful consideration. Examining the effect that VR has on learning in other areas gives us an idea of how VR can be suitably applied to flying training. Some of the benefits offered by VR include increased safety, decreased costs, accelerated learning process, and increased environmental sustainability. Nevertheless, some challenges ahead for developers to consider are negative transfer of learning, cybersickness, and failure for users to adopt the technology. In addition to this discussion, existing technologies are presented and compared across a number of areas. Future directions for research and development in VR flying training are considered, highlighting the importance of thorough testing procedures, and shifting research focus to the considerate integration of VR into flying training procedures.
... Researchers and practitioners are exploring the efficacy of virtual reality (VR) in education and training, including in aviation (Hight et al., 2022). In this poster presentation, we briefly discuss existing literature that has examined the effectiveness of VR for training within aviation. ...
... Virtual Reality (VR), although in many contemporary applications associated mostly with entertainment, has great potential as a display modality and interactive tool in education and training, including in aviation (Hight et al., 2022). Combining interactivity with immersion, while requiring relatively small facilities and a cost footprint, VR holds the promises of realism, cost-effectiveness, and anywhere-anytime training. ...
Researchers and practitioners are exploring the efficacy of virtual reality (VR) in education and training, including in aviation (Hight et al., 2022). In this poster presentation, we briefly discuss existing literature that has examined the effectiveness of VR for training within aviation. We then specifically address the potential adoption of VR as a simulation training tool to enhance crew resource management (CRM) training in what we refer to as supplemental Scenario-based Training (SBT).
... There are several advantages of using VR technologies in training environments. Virtual training spaces may be developed with comparatively inexpensive, yet very realistic, hardware and software (Hight et al., 2022;Özgen et al., 2019). Learning in virtual environments (VEs) enhances the internalization of concepts through active engagement, positively impacts performance on assessments, and improves learning outcomes (Hight et al., 2022;Marraffino et al., 2022). ...
... Virtual training spaces may be developed with comparatively inexpensive, yet very realistic, hardware and software (Hight et al., 2022;Özgen et al., 2019). Learning in virtual environments (VEs) enhances the internalization of concepts through active engagement, positively impacts performance on assessments, and improves learning outcomes (Hight et al., 2022;Marraffino et al., 2022). Repeating tasks in VEs positively affect visual-spatial skills, psychomotor skills, cognition, memory, and emotional responses (Jensen & Konradsen, 2018). ...
The U.S. Air Force (USAF) Warfighter Interactions and Readiness Division is actively integrating virtual reality (VR) technology in Distributed Mission Operations Live, Virtual, and Constructive (DMO LVC) training. A head-mounted display (HMD) comparison methodology was pilot tested to evaluate the usability of multiple VR headsets for application in Warfighter training. This report discusses key factors and considerations that may impact usability and user experience, thereby impacting the training of the user. Implications on how these findings may correlate with training efficiencies are discussed.
... Simulations have long been a part of aviation culture, and pilot training programs have been using simulation tools for a long time, which enable them to test pilots-in-training and assess their reactions to difficult scenarios (Hight et al., 2022). Similarly, simulating various scenarios and testing for the likelihood of aircraft damage can enable managers to make inferences and business decisions based on incident and accident reports (Madeira et al., 2021). ...
... A technique where VR is used to replicate real-world environments or situations (e.g., flight simulators for pilots, surgical practice for doctors). (Gan et al., 2023;Hight et al., 2022) Immersive visualization A technique where VR is used to visualize complex data or structures in a three-dimensional, immersive way (e.g., anatomy, crystal structures, architecture). (Banerjee et al., 2023;Stella et al., 2023) The Electronic Journal of e-Learning SI XR Preview 2023 ...
Virtual reality has emerged as an influential technology in the educational landscape, offering learners and teachers immersive and interactive experiences that enhance traditional teaching methods. However, despite the increasing importance of virtual reality in education, a systematic description and classification of virtual reality use cases in education is still lacking. This limits the understanding and comparability of virtual reality use cases and highlights the need for a structured approach. This study asks the research question: How can virtual reality educational use cases, identified in the literature, be described, and classified? To classify these use cases, this study develops a state-of-the-art taxonomy. The taxonomy was developed in a combination of a conceptual-to-empirical and empirical-to-conceptual approach. The first stage to develop the taxonomy was based on a conceptual-to-empirical approach. Here, the concepts of virtual reality, use case and education serve as meta-characteristics and theoretical structure. To further detail the dimensions and characteristics, a systematic literature review was conducted by following a PRISMA-guided search and selection process. Therefore, the scientific databases Science Direct, AISel and Springer Link were used to search for studies between 2018 and 2023, obtaining a sample of 39 publications. As the conceptual-to-empirical approach did not richly describe the analysed virtual reality use cases from the studies, additional dimensions and characteristics were identified inductively. Therefore, a second iteration was conducted relating to the empirical-to-conceptual approach. This process explored the practical aspects of virtual reality scenarios and added applicable and practical characteristics to the initial theoretical foundation. The result is a comprehensive taxonomy of virtual reality use cases in education that contributes significantly to existing knowledge and provides a solid foundation for future research. The final taxonomy includes 17 dimensions and 37 characteristics. These findings can support educators to understand the nature of virtual reality use cases, enabling them to describe and implement such use cases effectively within educational settings.
... A lot of evidence has appeared in the press about the successful introduction of virtual reality technologies into the educational process during the pandemic and lockdown. It is widely implemented in educational institutions for the training of medical doctors [15,16], workers in various industries [17][18][19], simulators for pilots [20] and drivers [21,22], and for the training of engineers [23,24]. ...
Under the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is an accelerated transition from the traditional form of knowledge transfer to online learning. Our study of 344 automotive students showed that the success of this transition depends on the readiness to introduce special digital tools for organizing knowledge and conducting practical forms of classes. In this regard, a modern digital form of organizing and transferring knowledge to automotive service engineers in the form of virtual laboratories was developed and presented in the article. The work scenarios, functionality, and minimum technical requirements of virtual laboratories as software systems are described and reviewed in the paper. The rationale for the effectiveness of the application, based on the results of using 109 university students in training practice, is presented as a result of the research. An analysis of the distributions of the student survey results and their training progress revealed differences at the p = 0.05 significance level. This confirmed the hypothesis that the use of methods for teaching engineers special disciplines and language skills using VR technologies is much more effective than the traditional one. An increase in students’ interest in learning was revealed, and their performance improved markedly. This proves that the immersive nature of VR technology makes it possible to better assimilate the studied material, increase the level of motivation of future car service specialists, and also allow the organization of the transfer of knowledge online. The very process of knowledge transfer becomes the point of acquiring new digital competencies necessary for high-tech industries.
Pilot training is crucial for learning and practicing operations and safety procedures. The sooner pilots become acquainted with flight deck instrumentation and actions, the faster, safer, and cost-effective the training. Active learning with pilot training includes searching tasks and memorization ability. These aspects then need to be incorporated into the flight simulator training. The use of virtual reality (VR) technologies can in principle take pilot training to the next level. VR technologies such as head-mounted displays can provide a higher sense of presence in the observed sceneries and a more natural interaction than traditional (non-immersive) display systems (e.g. 2D monitors). There is, however, some reluctance towards using immersive VR systems in aviation training and a lack of knowledge on its effectiveness, which results in slow take-up of VR solutions and the dominant use of 2D monitors. This paper aims to assess the performance advantage an immersive system such as a head-mounted display (HMD) brings to pilot training. The focus is on presence, search tasks and memorization. We experiment with actions of learning instrumentation and procedures in the cockpit. We run the same activities on both a HMD and 2D monitor. We gather data on users’ performance in terms of accuracy, the success of actions, completion time and memorization through objective measurements. We also acquire data on presence and comfort through subjective rating.KeywordsVirtual realityImmersionHead mounted displayPilot trainingVisual searchMemorization
Virtual reality (VR) flight training programs are being developed as a low-cost, highly realistic training option and tested to ensure user expectations for skills mastery are met. A usability pilot study was conducted in two experimental courses comparing the training effectiveness of 2D and VR simulation for flight training at a university in the Southwestern United States. The results indicated that system usability was significantly higher in the VR group. There was no significant difference between groups for perceived workload nor user experience. Although both groups reported low symptoms of simulator sickness, users in the VR group reported significantly higher levels of eye strain. Both groups found the simulations to be enjoyable and several users stated that the simulations were beneficial for learning flight maneuvers. The results of the pilot study demonstrated that overall, VR simulation is similar to 2D simulation for flight training in terms of usability and user satisfaction.
Virtual reality (VR) is being researched and incorporated into curricula and training programs to expand educational opportunities and enhance learning across many fields. Although researchers are exploring the learning affordances associated with VR, research surrounding students’ perceptions of the technology, and intentions to use it for training has been neglected. The goal of this research was to determine the factors that influence students’ intention to use VR in a dynamic learning environment. An extended Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) was developed that incorporates factors related to education and the use of VR technology in training environments. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modeling (SEM) processes were employed. Nine of 14 hypotheses in the original model were supported, and eight of the nine predictor factors of the model were determined to directly or indirectly impact behavioral intention (BI). The original TAM factors had the strongest relationships. Relationships between factors particularly relevant to VR technology and learning were also supported. The results of this study may guide other educators interested in incorporating VR into a dynamic learning environment.
Virtual reality (VR) flight training programs are being developed as a low-cost, highly realistic training option and tested to ensure user expectations for skills mastery are met. A usability pilot study was conducted in two experimental courses comparing the training effectiveness of 2D and VR simulation for flight training at a university in the Southwestern United States. The results indicated that system usability was significantly higher in the VR group. There was no significant difference between groups for perceived workload nor user experience. Although both groups reported low symptoms of simulator sickness, users in the VR group reported significantly higher levels of eye strain. Both groups found the simulations to be enjoyable and several users stated that the simulations were beneficial for learning flight maneuvers. The results of the pilot study demonstrated that overall, VR simulation is similar to 2D simulation for flight training in terms of usability and user satisfaction.
Background:
Virtual reality (VR) technology has developed rapidly in recent years and has been applied in many fields, including medical education. A meta-analysis was performed to compare the examination pass rate of medical students educated using VR and those receiving traditional education to evaluate the teaching effect of VR in medical education.
Methods:
The PubMed, Springer Link, Science Direct, and Wiley Online Library were searched from inception to May 2020. Articles meeting the inclusion criteria were then evaluated, relevant information extracted and a meta-analysis conducted. Students were allocated to a VR group, those trained using VR technology, and a traditional education group, those who received a traditional medical education.
Results:
Six studies were included in the meta-analysis. The results indicate a significant difference between the pass rate of students educated using VR and those receiving traditional medical education. The odds ratios and confidence intervals of individual studies and our meta-analysis are illustrated with a forest plot.
Conclusions:
Students in the VR group performed better than those in the traditional education group. Teaching with VR may enhance student learning in medical education. Medical schools should consider making greater use of VR when educating students.
The goal of carrying out this work was to identify potential application areas for augmented reality (AR) in pilot education by addressing gender preferences. Like the field of engineering, the aviation industry is dominated by men. Because the aviation industry forecasts a high demand for pilots, it is highly desirable to address gender diversity and improve teaching methods in pilot education. In this study, potential application areas for AR-supported pilot training were investigated by conducting a survey with 60 pilots and flight instructors (including 12 women). Typical AR use cases were presented in videos, and the pilots reported their preferences regarding similar or other AR applications used in different parts of the flight training program. AR navigation was the use case that was most frequently preferred by both female and male pilots. The majority of pilots agreed that AR could potentially be used in theoretical instruction, pre-flight aircraft inspection, and procedure training. In addition, both gender groups showed similar preferences for various gaming concepts that make learning more interesting and engaging, such as receiving positive feedback. However, a higher percentage of women than men reported that achieving a target or receiving points to successfully finish a task and answering questions during the game were satisfying. Including a story in the game to attract attention was preferred by a higher percentage of men than women. The results of this study can be used to design AR educational concepts that support gender diversity in pilot education and other technical domains.
Researchers have explored the benefits and applications of virtual reality (VR) in different scenarios. VR possesses much potential and its application in education has seen much research interest lately. However, little systematic work currently exists on how researchers have applied immersive VR for higher education purposes that considers the usage of both high-end and budget head-mounted displays (HMDs). Hence, we propose using systematic mapping to identify design elements of existing research dedicated to the application of VR in higher education. The reviewed articles were acquired by extracting key information from documents indexed in four scientific digital libraries, which were filtered systematically using exclusion, inclusion, semi-automatic, and manual methods. Our review emphasizes three key points: the current domain structure in terms of the learning contents, the VR design elements, and the learning theories, as a foundation for successful VR-based learning. The mapping was conducted between application domains and learning contents and between design elements and learning contents. Our analysis has uncovered several gaps in the application of VR in the higher education sphere—for instance, learning theories were not often considered in VR application development to assist and guide toward learning outcomes. Furthermore, the evaluation of educational VR applications has primarily focused on usability of the VR apps instead of learning outcomes and immersive VR has mostly been a part of experimental and development work rather than being applied regularly in actual teaching. Nevertheless, VR seems to be a promising sphere as this study identifies 18 application domains, indicating a better reception of this technology in many disciplines. The identified gaps point toward unexplored regions of VR design for education, which could motivate future work in the field.
The dominant paradigm for inference in psychology is a null-hypothesis significance testing one. Recently, the foundations of this paradigm have been shaken by several notable replication failures. One recommendation to remedy the replication crisis is to collect larger samples of participants. We argue that this recommendation misses a critical point, which is that increasing sample size will not remedy psychology’s lack of strong measurement, lack of strong theories and models, and lack of effective experimental control over error variance. In contrast, there is a long history of research in psychology employing small-N designs that treats the individual participant as the replication unit, which addresses each of these failings, and which produces results that are robust and readily replicated. We illustrate the properties of small-N and large-N designs using a simulated paradigm investigating the stage structure of response times. Our simulations highlight the high power and inferential validity of the small-N design, in contrast to the lower power and inferential indeterminacy of the large-N design. We argue that, if psychology is to be a mature quantitative science, then its primary theoretical aim should be to investigate systematic, functional relationships as they are manifested at the individual participant level and that, wherever possible, it should use methods that are optimized to identify relationships of this kind.
In the light of substantial improvements to the quality and availability of virtual reality (VR) hardware seen since 2013, this review seeks to update our knowledge about the use of head-mounted displays (HMDs) in education and training. Following a comprehensive search 21 documents reporting on experimental studies were identified, quality assessed, and analysed. The quality assessment shows that the study quality was below average according to the Medical Education Research Study Quality Instrument, especially for the studies that were designed as user evaluations of educational VR products. The review identified a number of situations where HMDs are useful for skills acquisition. These include cognitive skills related to remembering and understanding spatial and visual information and knowledge; psychomotor skills related to head-movement, such as visual scanning or observational skills; and affective skills related to controlling your emotional response to stressful or difficult situations. Outside of these situations the HMDs had no advantage when compared to less immersive technologies or traditional instruction and in some cases even proved counterproductive because of widespread cybersickness, technological challenges, or because the immersive experience distracted from the learning task.
Australia has a rich history in aviation and has the tradition of being a pilot training provider for many decades. Students from all over the world are being attracted to Australia every year with the ambition of becoming a commercial pilot. An understanding of the impact of national cultures on the learning styles of student pilots from different culture backgrounds will be beneficial to the overall quality of pilot education in Australia. In this study, students enrolled in the aviation (pilot) program of Swinburne University of Technology were surveyed using Kolb's Learning Style Inventory, and subsequent analysis was performed to the survey data. It was found that a predominant percentage of aviation students were adopting converging and assimilating styles. When comparing findings of this project with previous studies using samples from China and the United States, Australian students' preference of abstract conceptualization was found to be quite similar to that of American students and different from Chinese students, which is an indication of the impact of national culture on learning style preference. This newfound knowledge of Australian aviation students will help raise the understanding how aviation students of different cultural backgrounds learn piloting skills and provide insightful information for flight training academies and researchers.
Virtual Reality (VR) has the potential to overcome natural constraints and present things that would not be visible in the physical world. This makes the medium of VR a powerful tool for learning that allows users to become highly immersed in complex topics. In this paper, we compare a VR learning environment with a traditional 2D learning environment. To investigate the differences between VR and 2D learning environments, we designed two activities that help learners gain an intuitive understanding of concepts from electricity and magnetism. We performed an experiment comparing the learning that took place using these two variant. Although our quantitative learning measures did not reveal a significant difference between 2D and VR, VR was perceived by learners to have advantages. We did find significant quantitative differences in learners’ completion times. We share findings, based on the quantitative and qualitative feedback received, about what makes VR environments beneficial for learning about complex spatial topics, and propose corresponding design guidelines.
VR has the potential to provide experiences and deliver results that cannot be otherwise achieved. However, interacting with immersive applications is not always straightforward and it is not just about an interface for the user to reach their goals. It is also about users working in an intuitive manner that is a pleasurable experience and devoid of frustration. Although VR systems and applications are incredibly complex, it is up to designers to take on the challenge of having the VR application intuitively communicate to users how the virtual world and its tools work so that those users can achieve their goals in an elegant and comfortable manner.
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