A Comparative Study of Virtual Reality Displays for Construction Education

In many construction building systems courses, two-dimensional (2D) diagrams are used in text books and by the instructors as teaching aid. This conventional approach may not be sufficient enough to convey the actual representation of the building system. It can lead to confusion and misunderstanding to students who are particularly new to the subject matter in hand. Research has suggested that a Virtual Reality (VR) environment can be an effective educational tool to enhance the understanding and educational experience of AEC students. There are a number of VR displays that are used by both commercial and academic institutions. However, to date the characteristics of the VR displays that relates to the suitability for teaching and learning building systems are yet to be compared. This paper presents a study to evaluate and compare three VR displays 1) CAVETM, 2) Head Mounted Display (HMD) and 3) Immersive Workbench (IWB) that can be used to assist training and education. Index Terms CAVETM, construction, education, HMD, Immersive Workbench, training, Virtual Reality