Using virtual reality as a tool to enhance classroom instruction

Because Virtual Reality (VR) offers the opportunity to visualize, explore, manipulate, and interact with objects within a computer generated environment, it is hypothesized to be an excellent educational tool for use in classroom instruction for engineering students involved in design development, evaluation, and validation. The goal of this research study was to explore the possibilities of using VR in Ergonomics courses within the Industrial Engineering curriculum; specifically this paper assesses the perceptions of students and the ability of students to use VR as a tool for performing ergonomic evaluations of work tasks and workstations. The objectives of this project were constructed to answer two important questions. Can VR be used to perform ergonomic analysis? How accurately can students perform ergonomic evaluations within a VR environment?