Training for Open-Ended Drilling through a Virtual Reality Simulation

TL;DR

This paper presents an open-ended VR drilling training system that enhances learning outcomes by allowing realistic practice, leading to higher success rates, fewer mistakes, and faster completion times in a manufacturing context.

Contribution

The paper introduces a novel open-ended VR training prototype for drilling skills, demonstrating improved learning outcomes over traditional close-ended methods.

Findings

VR group completed drilling faster

VR group made fewer mistakes

VR group had higher success rate

Abstract

Virtual Reality (VR) can support effective and scalable training of psychomotor skills in manufacturing. However, many industry training modules offer experiences that are close-ended and do not allow for human error. We aim to address this gap in VR training tools for psychomotor skills training by exploring an open-ended approach to the system design. We designed a VR training simulation prototype to perform open-ended practice of drilling using a 3-axis milling machine. The simulation employs near "end-to-end" instruction through a safety module, a setup and drilling tutorial, open-ended practice complete with warnings of mistakes and failures, and a function to assess the geometries and locations of drilled holes against an engineering drawing. We developed and conducted a user study within an undergraduate-level introductory fabrication course to investigate the impact of open-ended VR practice on learning outcomes. Study results reveal positive trends, with the VR group successfully completing the machining task of drilling at a higher rate (75% vs 64%), with fewer mistakes (1.75 vs 2.14 score), and in less time (17.67 mins vs 21.57 mins) compared to the control group. We discuss our findings and limitations and implications for the design of open-ended VR training systems for learning psychomotor skills.