Applications of Haptic Technology in Engineering Education

People gather information by using their senses to explore and interact with physical systems. The ability to touch is very important in learning fundamental engineering concepts. However, the traditional in-class experience can not create every physical engineering system with a sense of touch. One solution is to utilize haptic technology, a technology used to create physical touch in a virtual environment. We have been studying how haptic technology can be used to improve intuition and retention of engineering concepts. Our preliminary study has shown promising results, but there are still areas of potential improvement. Therefore, the focus of our research has shifted towards optimizing the haptic learning system by improving the quality of the haptic feedback, and modifying the learning environment. To improve the immersive haptic experience, we are developing a more robust design to stabilize the motors in the robot. We are also better integrating the engineering concept into the simulation. Our goal is to make the learning experience as easy as possible, which we expect to achieve by incorporating live equations reflecting the interactions in the system. With these changes, we hope to see a significant improvement in the student’s retention of engineering concepts