A Critical Review of the Use of Virtual Reality in Construction Engineering Education and Training

Peng Wang, Peng Wu, Jun Wang, Hung-Lin Chi and Xiangyu Wang
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Peng Wang: School of Engineering and Technology, Southwest University, Chongqing 400715, China
Peng Wu: School of Design and the Built Environment, Curtin University, Perth 6102, Australia
Jun Wang: Australasian Joint Research Centre for Building Information Modelling, Curtin University, Perth 6102, Australia
Hung-Lin Chi: Department of Building and Real Estate, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Hong Kong, China
Xiangyu Wang: Australasian Joint Research Centre for Building Information Modelling, Curtin University, Perth 6102, Australia

IJERPH, 2018, vol. 15, issue 6, 1-18

Abstract: Virtual Reality (VR) has been rapidly recognized and implemented in construction engineering education and training (CEET) in recent years due to its benefits of providing an engaging and immersive environment. The objective of this review is to critically collect and analyze the VR applications in CEET, aiming at all VR-related journal papers published from 1997 to 2017. The review follows a three-stage analysis on VR technologies, applications and future directions through a systematic analysis. It is found that the VR technologies adopted for CEET evolve over time, from desktop-based VR, immersive VR, 3D game-based VR, to Building Information Modelling (BIM)-enabled VR. A sibling technology, Augmented Reality (AR), for CEET adoptions has also emerged in recent years. These technologies have been applied in architecture and design visualization, construction health and safety training, equipment and operational task training, as well as structural analysis. Future research directions, including the integration of VR with emerging education paradigms and visualization technologies, have also been provided. The findings are useful for both researchers and educators to usefully integrate VR in their education and training programs to improve the training performance.

Keywords: virtual reality; construction engineering; training and education; building information modelling; construction safety (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (15)

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