Ac 2007-2137: Gesture-based Interactive Beam Bending Exercises: an Interactive and Intuitive Tool for Students

Immersion and interactive experience are introduced into a Solid Mechanics beam bending lab exercise by utilizing gesture-based analysis that is inexpensive, utilizes off-the-shelf cameras, and is highly portable for ease of use in the classroom. A cantilever I-beam is rendered in virtual reality (VR) and a user’s gestures are captured and interpreted in real-time to allow for natural interaction with the beam. Users can bend the I-beam with up to three degrees-of-freedom, via mechanics governed by well-known elastic beam theory. This approach evokes a more immersive feeling in students, the intended users of the application, keeping them more engaged in the exercise. A simple web camera captures hand motion and algorithms interpret various gestures in real-time. For instance, simply by moving their hand up/down or left/right, seeming to “grab” and push or pull the end of the beam, students can intuitively vary input parameters such as load or displacements to the free end of a cantilever beam. Feedback, such as axial stress distributions, is displayed in real time. This approach provides a supplementary tool that is much more current with the state of the art for learning tools and provides for the need to keep students engaged and interested in various exercises, while still delivering many of the pertinent concepts found in lecture-based engineering courses. Results are discussed from student engagement in supplementary exercises to a traditional sophomore-level undergraduate Solid Mechanics course. Future improvements to the current application are discussed.