Development of an Educational Mixed Reality Game on Water Desalination Plants

Abstract

This Work-in-Progress paper reports on the development of a Mixed Reality (MR) game prototype via HoloLens and Unity Engine. We aim to investigate how we can incorporate immersive multimedia technologies such as HoloLens as a potential form of STEM learning for students. This paper also proposes methods for testing the game's effectiveness as a learning tool. In our research, we have developed a prototype of a Desalination Plant in the Mixed Reality model application using the Game Development software called Unity engine. The MR app includes interactions and animations added to the 3D Industrial model, and we crossbuilt the Unity application to the HoloLens device, allowing the user to interact with the model in a real-world environment. The game aims to stimulate competition by introducing time constraints, game levels and a point system to incentivize students by developing their analytical skills. The game will be followed by a survey tool to assess the educational impact of the game and whether it was beneficial for the students in aiding them in the learning process. The research team has drawn upon the experiences of the Petroleum Engineering department at Texas A&M University at Qatar, who implemented a virtual reality application visualizing LNG spill and Dispersion in one of their research projects [1]. However, in our project, we aim to not only simulate the facility for visualization purposes but also to provide more interactive content for the users in STEM courses and increase students' comprehension of specific topics. In the process of designing the MR game, we aim to address the following research questions: 1) Do students’ motivation to learn about plant design and process safety procedures improve after implementing MR? & 2) To what extent can a MR game application teach students to synthesize and design processes typically encountered in the desalination plant to meet needs within realistic constraints such as economics, safety, health & the environment?