SUNY Poly receives grant to launch virtual-reality engineering project

The goal of the project is to explore and develop a non-proprietary library of virtual-reality (VR) videos and models related to solid mechanics, structures, and mechanical equipment including the creation of virtual labs of solid mechanics and structural analysis through VR models. SUNY Polytechnic Institute’s Zhanjie Li, associate professor of civil engineering; Se Jung Kim, assistant professor of interactive media and game design; and Jiayue (Joyce) Shen, assistant professor of mechanical engineering technology, are leading the project.

With predictions that virtual reality and mixed reality will change the way engineers design and manufacture mechanical parts and construct bridges, the project is an important one.

“If our students can gain experience using this technology while at SUNY Poly, it will greatly prepare them for the future,” Li said in a university press release.

Rather than analyzing a building on paper, engineering students will gain a more holistic view of the structure using VR technology. The project also includes a partnership with the interactive media and game-design program for VR-model integration and future development of other interdisciplinary projects using VR technologies, including capstone projects. The effort will be done in cooperation with Nucor Buildings Group, which will provide the building information modeling-enabled inventory of metal buildings.

Overall, the project will create an easy-to-access and affordable experimental learning platform, develop a pedagogy plan on how to better incorporate VR technology into the classrooms, assess the effectiveness of VR technologies in solid-mechanics courses, and more.

SUNY Poly offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in nanoscience, nanoengineering, nanobioscience, technology, professional studies, and arts and sciences.