Engineering education

Helping workers return to work as soon as safe and functionally possible after a workplace injury is a subject of major interest in the context of occupational health. For this, we developed a serious game for construction industry aimed at training workers about the proper use of an electric pallet truck inside a simulated environment. The simulation platform is endowed with a physical control interface and three training missions were implemented. During the game experience, the player is also asked to answer to some questions about the possible risks and the related protection measures. The results of preliminary experiments about the usability of our training framework are here reported and discussed.

Keywords: learning , product interface design , serious games , usability assessment , virtual training

Fully constrained features and sound associativity are prerequisites for robustness and alterability of parametric feature-based CAD models. However, errors in associativity are very difficult to detect with traditional static analysis approaches, due to effects that remain hidden until parameter changes and model re-creation take place. Currently, studies on associativity-related CAD model deficiency have not advanced to the point of being a part of model analysis. In this paper, the novel concept of dormant deficiency, together with a three-level classification, a graph-based knowledge network, a human readable visualization of cause and effect relationships, and a software tool are presented in a newly developed approach to dynamic CAD model analysis. Within this approach, dormant deficiencies are triggered to facilitate a methodic knowledge-driven method of detecting errors in associativity. This is achieved through systematic analysis of deficiency generating effects and their related symptoms, followed by systematic backtracking to their root causes. A selection of representative examples used for testing and evaluation of the approach is included within the empirical results from practice.

Keywords: Design intent , Dynamic CAD model properties , Feature dependency , Formative feedback , Parametric feature-based CAD model alteration , Robust CAD models

The research on technologies and methodologies for (accurate, real-time, spontaneous, three-dimensional…) facial expression recognition is ongoing and has been fostered in the past decades by advances in classification algorithms like deep learning, which makes them part of the Artificial Intelligence literature. Still, despite its upcoming application to contexts such as human–computer interaction, product and service design, and marketing, only a few literature studies have investigated the willingness of end users to share their facial data with the purpose of detecting emotions. This study investigates the level of awareness and interest of 373 potential consumers towards this technology in the car insurance sector, particularly in the contract drafting phase, with a focus on differentiating the respondents between generation Y and Z. Results show that younger people, individuals with higher levels of education, and social network users feel more confident about this innovative technology and are more likely to share their expressive facial data.

Keywords: Facial expression recognition , Insurance market , Survey , Technology acceptance , Technology propensity , Young consumers

Most cultural promotion and dissemination are nowadays performed through the digitization of heritage sites and museums, a necessary requirement to meet the new needs of the public. Augmented Reality (AR), Mixed Reality (MR), and Virtual Reality (VR) have the potential to improve the experience quality and educational effect of these sites by stimulating users' senses in a more natural and vivid way. In this respect, head-mounted display (HMD) devices allow visitors to enhance the experience of cultural sites by digitizing information and integrating additional virtual cues about cultural artifacts, resulting in a more immersive experience that engages the visitor both physically and emotionally. This study contributes to the development and incorporation of AR, MR, and VR applications in the cultural heritage domain by providing an overview of relevant studies utilizing fully immersive systems, such as headsets and CAVE systems, emphasizing the advantages that they bring when compared to handheld devices. We propose a framework study to identify the key features of headset-based Extended Reality (XR) technologies used in the cultural heritage domain that boost immersion, sense of presence, and agency. Furthermore, we highlight core characteristics that favor the adoption of these systems over more traditional solutions (e.g., handheld devices), as well as unsolved issues that must be addressed to improve the guests' experience and the appreciation of the cultural heritage. An extensive search of Google Scholar, Scopus, IEEE Xplore, ACM Digital Library, and Wiley Online Library databases was conducted, including papers published from January 2018 to September 2022. To improve review reporting, the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines were used. Sixty-five papers met the inclusion criteria and were classified depending on the study's purpose: education, entertainment, edutainment, touristic guidance systems, accessibility, visitor profiling, and management. Immersive cultural heritage systems allow visitors to feel completely immersed and present in the virtual environment, providing a stimulating and educational cultural experience that can improve the quality and learning purposes of cultural visits. Nonetheless, the analyzed studies revealed some limitations that must be faced to give a further impulse to the adoption of these technologies in the cultural heritage domain.

Keywords: Augmented reality (AR) , Cultural heritage , Digital heritage , Head-mounted display (HMD) , Mixed reality (MR) , Virtual reality (VR)

The work provides an overview of recent advances in the use of additive manufacturing (AM) technologies for aerospace applications of light alloys by describing current problems and perspectives. The needs of the aerospace industry stem from the strong competition to manufacture aircrafts with improved technical features and reduced costs. In this challenge AM has drawn increasing attention. A critical analysis has been carried out by focusing the attention on the strict relation between process parameters, microstructure and properties of light alloys printed by various AM methods. The matter is discussed by taking into account the aspects common to all the light alloys and those specific of each class of materials.

Keywords: Additive Manufacturing , Aerospace , Aluminium alloys , Light alloys , Magnesium alloys , Titanium alloys

The "An Ocean of Science" project encourages effective interventions and innovative educational paths to support the growth of knowledge and skills in schools, helping competent institutions to guarantee more inclusive cohesion policies with a high cultural and scientific impact. The project also provides innovation in education and training by providing cultural and socio-educational development opportunities in the framework of cultural heritage located in the marine environment and sea protection. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects and involvement of secondary school students during several educational laboratory activities, focusing on the development of their practical skills and training. With a view to active learning, which makes the students actors, responsible and aware of the learning process, this study shows an experimental work designed to demonstrate the usefulness and the validity of the scientific approach as the main pillar of the teaching of the sciences related to the marine issues, with special focus to submerged cultural heritage and sea pollution.

Keywords: Educational innovation , serious games , teaching/learning experiences , underwater cultural heritage , virtual reality

This article reports a study evaluating the effect of continuous assistance via an active exoskeleton during orientation tasks of the human wrist in a serious game. The proposed platform features a complete system that may be used for robot-assisted rehabilitation in clinics, offering support for both the therapist and the patient. It gives the possibility to customize the rehabilitation session by regulating the assigned task difficulty, the assistance level offered by the exoskeleton, and the wrist Degrees of Freedoms (DoFs) to be supported, providing a versatile, easy-to-use, rehabilitation station. The setup consists of a 3-DoFs wrist exoskeleton activated by three electric motors, connected to a wheeled station containing the control unit and the host PC to actuate the exoskeleton. The exoskeleton allows to monitor the positions of the human wrist joints and the force applied to the device by the user while performing a movement. Advanced software has been implemented to create a stimulating environment during therapy through virtual reality. The Flight Simulator serious game has been used to investigate the user's wrist Range of Motion (RoM) covered while reaching twenty targets. Thirteen healthy subjects tested the system under two different conditions, considering the device assistance on/off. Results show a significantly higher performance under assistance, rather than without it, on the exploitation of the wrist RoM and on the intuitiveness of movements during the orientation task. A reduction of around 30% of the overall muscle stress has been measured, highlighting the assistance efficacy of the system.

Keywords: Human-Robot Interaction , Mechanism Design , Medical and Rehabilitation Robots , Motor Control , Wearable Device , Wrist Exoskeleton

As technology advances, we are surrounded by more complex products that can be challenging to use and troubleshoot. We often turn to online resources and the help of others to learn how to use a product's features or fix malfunctions. This is a common issue in both everyday life and industry. The key to being able to use a product or fix malfunctions is having access to accurate information and instructions and gaining the necessary skills to perform the tasks correctly. This paper offers an overview of how artificial intelligence, digital twins, and the metaverse-currently popular technologies-can enhance the process of acquiring knowledge, know-how, and skills, with a focus on industrial maintenance. However, the concepts discussed may also apply to the maintenance of consumer products.

Keywords: computer-aided design , cyberphysical system design and operation , eXtended reality , maintenance , metaverse

Nowadays, industrial training is gaining popularity, and in particular, Virtual Reality (VR) technologies are often adopted to recreate training experiences that can transform the learning process by exploiting the concept of learning by doing. Moreover, VR allows us to recreate realistic and immersive environments that provide trainees with hands-on experience in a safe and controlled setting. One of the advantages of using VR technologies to perform training simulations lies in the ability that these tools offer to mix different senses as if they were independent variables and to manipulate them one at a time. In this way, the effects of using one sense on the specific task under analysis can be discovered in a controlled scenario in which the others are controlled. One of the least used senses in VR is undoubtedly that of smell. In this paper, we intend to use a new olfactory device specifically designed to be adopted with VR technologies, integrate it with an immersive VR training application, and propose a series of uses allowed by this combination. In the paper, we report the details of the multisensory approach that integrates the different senses. Additionally, the paper presents the findings of a pilot experiment conducted to validate the adopted approach and assess the results. The study demonstrates that the developed Olfactory Display had no adverse impact on users' interaction with VR content.

Keywords: Olfactory Display , Virtual Reality , Virtual Training

Since its inception, research on design methods has encompassed a number of objectives and fields. In this fragmentary and evolving landscape, a reflection was apparently needed on the chance to provide a general framework and understand the progress (if any) towards a unified and domain-independent design theory and methodology. The issue was discussed by the authors, among the others, during a workshop organized by the Society of Design and Process Science. The paper reports the most important points that emerged in the debate, which was kicked off by panellists' talks providing different perspectives on domain-independent design and the adoption of design methods by industry and practitioners. The discussion highlighted the relevance of design education, individual factors, as well as the role of designers in nowadays' changing world. A major take-away from the workshop is the forecast that, in the foreseeable future, a shared design knowledge will be developed, but this will be juxtaposed by peculiar and bespoke design practices.

Keywords: design domains , design education , design methods , industry , Universal design

By progressively embracing the general principles of integrated, parametric, interdisciplinary design that considers the manufacturing elements of the imagined product, the modern aesthetic designer is called upon to broaden their knowledge and abilities. Especially when there is a need to produce complex shapes, when cost-effective, there are also numerous 3D printing technologies available today, to be used both in the conceptual phase (prototyping) and for actual production. The present paper aims to propose a discussion on the role of product engineering modelling in aesthetic design education. The progress of new 3D parametric modelling tools available to aesthetic designers is discussed, with a focus on the most cutting-edge features that have been released recently. The importance of parametric design education in general and the positive effects its application can have in the design process will also be discussed.

Keywords: aesthetic design , CAD , generative design , parametric modelling , product engineering , topology optimisation

Industry 4.0 will bring not only transformation to the manufacturing technologies but also to the profile of the workforce. Education system should be revised to prepare the future graduates embracing the knowledge of the ongoing revolution. Initiatives on the modification of curriculum and tools to deliver the concepts of Industry 4.0 must be taken. This paper examines limitations of current engineering tools and proposes a virtual reality (VR)-based learning platform to support the teaching and learning activity for Industry 4.0, focusing on the design of Human–robot Collaboration (HRC). The development process began with the identification of the general Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs) which were extracted from the review of the HRC design issues, followed by the evaluation of the current teaching tool. From these results, the new requirements of the tools to achieve ILOs are redefined. The implementation of the system is demonstrated to show the feasibility of the proposed learning platform. This workflow can serve as initial development of another learning platform for the other innovative concepts that form the building blocks of Industry 4.0.

Keywords: Human–robot collaboration , Industry 4.0 , Learning factory , Virtual reality

Virtual Reality (VR) is one of the major technology trends right now and will increase much more in the future. This technology promotes a new way of interaction, communication, and productivity. This paper aims to allow students with special needs to work and interact with Google Earth using VR. The theoretical framework used, the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF) perspective and checklists, allows us to identify the best way to propose an interactive and funny learning process for students with Special Educational Needs (SEN). By means of ICF, the definition of the proper technological tools and of the main steps in which the learning process can be divided is possible. This approach, indeed, leads to the translation of cognitive tasks that can result too complex for students with cognitive fragilities into concrete experiences more easily to do for all, promoting inclusion and equity in our modern digital society. In the present work, the inclusive VR-based technology is tested on a group of 10 students with SEN in Google Earth environment, and the final outcomes in terms of system usability are presented.

Keywords: Autism , Down Syndrome , Extended Reality , Inclusive Education , Neurodevelopmental Disorder , Special Education , Special Educational Needs , Training

Nowadays, logistics is increasingly becoming a crucial process in the modern factories, and numerous companies are paying growing attention to the continuous improvement of quality and efficiency of logistic processes. Although Industry 4.0 concept introduced new digital technologies and led to high degree of automation of industrial and logistic systems, many tasks still rely on human work, especially in the warehouse. As a consequence, the consideration of the operators' needs is definitely a key topic to guarantee high quality work performance, according to Industry 5.0 paradigm. In this context, the quality of the training procedures is fundamental to speed up the knowledge transfer and empower operators through the use of digital technologies. This paper presents the development of a novel training methodology based on Augmented Reality (AR), promoting a learning-by-doing approach to enhance both operators' satisfaction and process efficiency and flexibility. A dedicated AR application has been developed for a spare parts warehouse of a large enterprise operating in the agriculture and construction vehicles sector, according to a User-Centered Design (UCD) approach. Results from field testing showed how the AR application is positively rated by the operators, guaranteeing high user satisfaction, and limiting the training effort.

Keywords: Augmented Reality (AR) , Training , User-Centered Design (UCD) , warehouse Operation

The advent of the COVID-19 emergency has affected all aspects of daily life, inevitably causing also significant changes at every education level. These changes have led to a sudden shift from face-to-face to online teaching, with a heavy impact on both interaction modes and methods and tools exploited meanwhile. The research described in this paper started by collecting data from university students about their perception of technical drawing teaching before and during/after COVID-19. The analysis of this students' point of view, along with considerations about their performance (exam passing rates and marks, etc.

Keywords: Covid-19 , Engineering education , Online teaching , Students' surveys , Technical drawing teaching

The need for innovative products led scholars to develop design methods to improve or at least to support creativity of designers. Among the different alternatives, the Problem Solution Network (PSN) was developed to solve some of the issues that characterize the German systematic approach for conceptual design. The objective of this paper is to report and discuss pros and cons of the use of the PSN for didactic purposes in an engineering design course. Both, feedback from students and teachers' impressions, have been gathered in about ten years. The key information is then reported and discussed in this paper, highlighting that as for other academic design methods, the key problem still resides in motivating students to better understand the learned approach.

Keywords: Conceptual design , Creativity , Engineering education

The promotion of creativity in education is intended to address many of the political challenges and goals for the development of a country, but among all of them the role of creativity in technology and economics is seen as crucial in helping nations to achieve higher employment, better economic performance and to cope with global competition. This study, currently in its preliminary phase, aims to compare the creativity levels of first-year students at a medium-sized Italian university. The degree courses in Engineering Management, Mechanical Engineering, Law and Motor Sciences were analyzed. In this analysis, students' creativity is measured with the “Forward Flow” test by Gray et al. This test implements a new metric that uses latent semantic analysis to measure the evolution of thoughts over time. Operationally, students are asked to produce a sequence of semantically related words from a given initial word. Latent semantic analysis calculates the semantic distance between words by examining the frequency with which they appear together in a very large collection of documents. Studies conducted on the test, found in the literature, reveal that Forward Flow can predict the creativity of college students. According to these studies, even that membership in real-world creative groups (e.g. professional actors or entrepreneurs) is statistically predicted by scores on the Forward Flow test, even when controlling for divergent thinking.

Keywords: Creativity , Engineering education

This work is part of the historic collaboration between the design and methods research groups of the universities of Udine and Brescia. In particular, it presents the results of a survey on the perceptions of engineering students on the online teaching methods activated for the technical drawing courses during the COVID-19 pandemic. 111 students at the University of Udine participated in the survey and the results of the analysis of the responses showed that, in general, online teaching methods are not comparable to face-to-face ones; however, they have been appreciated as they allowed regular teaching during this critical period. Furthermore, opinions and scores from the new teaching methods were more than positive regarding both the availability of the recordings of the lessons and the introduction of generalized corrections of exercises. The authors planned to extend the survey also to the University of Brescia to collect further pieces of information in order to constantly improve this teaching paradigm.

Keywords: COVID-19 , Engineering education , Online teaching , Students survey , Technical drawing

Teamwork quality (TWQ) is often associated with project success. Therefore, understanding TWQ is crucial to have better design project outcomes. Since most of the studies in the past have presented a cross-sectional analysis of TWQ, the current work focuses on capturing TWQ in a longitudinal way for a project-based learning (PBL) course. The results showed that the 6 facets differed significantly during the first half of the course than towards the end. In later phases of the PBL, TWQ and team performance were positively correlated than at the beginning.

Keywords: collaborative design , design education , design teams , product development , teamwork

This paper presents an approach to identify and validate indicators for the use of virtual prototypes (VPs) during distributed design activities. Identification of indicators is based on various data collection methods (interview, observational methods, literature review), whereas their validation and usage are based on the protocol analysis method. Using the approach, four indicators are proposed for a design review activity context. These indicators describe both the individual and collaborative use of the VP. To further delineate collaborative use, indicators distinguish personal and shared viewpoints, providing insights into synchronous collaboration. The implementation of the proposed approach and the four identified indicators were demonstrated on a design review session. The preliminary results show that, in a distributed design review activity, team members spend a small fraction of the time viewing the VP. On a team level, about half of that time was spent viewing the VP individually, while another half of time was spent working simultaneously (either synchronously or asynchronously) in pairs, triplets or four-members. However, this distribution varies among team members. Furthermore, team members utilised both personal and shared viewpoints, again varying among team members. Finally, instances of using the VP were usually brief but occurred throughout the whole session. Based on the conducted study, it can be argued that the design review involves continuous use of the VP throughout the session, either individually or with others (sharing the view or not). The proposed approach, indicators and preliminary results provide new insights for practitioners who develop tools for VP use, design teams that want to improve their efficiency in using VPs, and scholars that study the collaboration within distributed design activities.

Keywords: Collaboration indicators , Collaborative CAD , Distributed design activities , Distributed team , Virtual prototype (VP)