{"title":"ENERGYSIM:通过沉浸式虚拟现实(VR)模拟推进建筑能源教育的技术","authors":"Hassan Anifowose, Kifah Alhazzaa, Manish Dixit","doi":"10.36680/j.itcon.2023.028","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"An important practice for reducing the effects of global warming is the design and construction of energy-efficient buildings. In design education, the full comprehension of thermal behavior in buildings based on their geometry and material composition is required. The complexity of energy simulation principles, vis-a-vis the number of elements that impact the energy loads, their linkages, and their relationships to one another all combine to make this a challenging subject to absorb. Virtual Reality (VR) provides an immersive way to learn the concepts of building energy responses; however, the development of VR applications for education is difficult due to the knowledge, skill, and performance resource-related gaps. Unoptimized VR applications can adversely impact learning if user experiences are broken due to performance lags. This research, therefore, explores VR as a teaching tool for building energy education while showcasing the development process toward a visually accurate simulation and performant application. We developed EnergySIM; a multi-user VR building energy simulation prototype of the famous Farnsworth House. Using this prototype, we document rigorously tested development workflows for improved VR game performance, high visual fidelity, and user interaction, the three key factors which positively contribute to user knowledge retention. The study combines menu-driven interaction, virtual exploration, and miniature model manipulation approaches with the aim of testing user understanding and knowledge retention. Highlighted results provide reduced barriers of entry for educators towards developing higher quality educational VR applications. EnergySIM showcases pre-simulated building exterior surface heatmaps response from four seasons (winter, summer, fall, and spring) alongside an all-year-round sun-hour scenario. Four different material pre-simulated scenarios (single glazing, double glazing, concrete, and wood) for interior atmospheric temperature mapping are also explored. Preferred interaction methods are documented by allowing users’ visual appraisal of alternative building materials based on insulation capacity or resistance to heat flow (R-value). The significance of this work lies in its potential to revolutionize how students, designers, and instructors approach building energy education in today’s world. EnergySIM provides a hands-on and visually engaging learning experience towards the enhancement of knowledge retention and understanding. It pushes the boundaries of development for visual fidelity using geometry/mesh modeling input from various software into game engines and optimizing game performance using the HTC Vive Pro Eye and Meta Quest Pro headsets.","PeriodicalId":51624,"journal":{"name":"Journal of Information Technology in Construction","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.6000,"publicationDate":"2023-09-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"1","resultStr":"{\"title\":\"ENERGYSIM: techniques for advancing building energy education through immersive virtual reality (VR) simulation\",\"authors\":\"Hassan Anifowose, Kifah Alhazzaa, Manish Dixit\",\"doi\":\"10.36680/j.itcon.2023.028\",\"DOIUrl\":null,\"url\":null,\"abstract\":\"An important practice for reducing the effects of global warming is the design and construction of energy-efficient buildings. In design education, the full comprehension of thermal behavior in buildings based on their geometry and material composition is required. The complexity of energy simulation principles, vis-a-vis the number of elements that impact the energy loads, their linkages, and their relationships to one another all combine to make this a challenging subject to absorb. Virtual Reality (VR) provides an immersive way to learn the concepts of building energy responses; however, the development of VR applications for education is difficult due to the knowledge, skill, and performance resource-related gaps. Unoptimized VR applications can adversely impact learning if user experiences are broken due to performance lags. This research, therefore, explores VR as a teaching tool for building energy education while showcasing the development process toward a visually accurate simulation and performant application. We developed EnergySIM; a multi-user VR building energy simulation prototype of the famous Farnsworth House. Using this prototype, we document rigorously tested development workflows for improved VR game performance, high visual fidelity, and user interaction, the three key factors which positively contribute to user knowledge retention. The study combines menu-driven interaction, virtual exploration, and miniature model manipulation approaches with the aim of testing user understanding and knowledge retention. Highlighted results provide reduced barriers of entry for educators towards developing higher quality educational VR applications. EnergySIM showcases pre-simulated building exterior surface heatmaps response from four seasons (winter, summer, fall, and spring) alongside an all-year-round sun-hour scenario. Four different material pre-simulated scenarios (single glazing, double glazing, concrete, and wood) for interior atmospheric temperature mapping are also explored. 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引用次数: 1
摘要
减少全球变暖影响的一个重要做法是设计和建造节能建筑。在设计教育中,需要根据建筑的几何形状和材料组成充分理解建筑的热行为。能量模拟原理的复杂性,相对于影响能量负荷的元素的数量,它们的联系,以及它们彼此之间的关系,都使这成为一个具有挑战性的主题。虚拟现实(VR)提供了一种身临其境的方式来学习建筑能源响应的概念;然而,由于知识、技能和性能资源相关的差距,VR应用于教育的开发是困难的。如果由于性能滞后而破坏了用户体验,那么未优化的VR应用程序可能会对学习产生不利影响。因此,本研究探索了VR作为建筑能源教育的教学工具,同时展示了视觉上精确的模拟和性能应用的发展过程。我们开发了EnergySIM;著名的法恩斯沃斯之家的多用户VR建筑能源模拟原型。使用此原型,我们记录了经过严格测试的开发工作流程,以改进VR游戏性能,高视觉保真度和用户交互,这三个关键因素对用户知识保留有积极贡献。该研究结合了菜单驱动交互、虚拟探索和微型模型操作方法,目的是测试用户的理解和知识保留。突出显示的结果为教育工作者开发更高质量的教育VR应用降低了进入门槛。EnergySIM展示了四个季节(冬季、夏季、秋季和春季)的预模拟建筑外表面热图响应,以及全年的太阳小时场景。四种不同的材料预模拟场景(单层玻璃,双层玻璃,混凝土和木材),用于室内大气温度映射也进行了探索。通过允许用户根据隔热能力或热流阻力(r值)对可选建筑材料进行视觉评估,记录了首选的交互方法。这项工作的意义在于,它有可能彻底改变当今世界学生、设计师和教师如何进行建筑能源教育。EnergySIM提供了一个动手和视觉上引人入胜的学习经验,以提高知识的保留和理解。它推动了视觉保真度的发展界限,使用几何/网格建模输入从各种软件到游戏引擎,并使用HTC Vive Pro Eye和Meta Quest Pro耳机优化游戏性能。
ENERGYSIM: techniques for advancing building energy education through immersive virtual reality (VR) simulation
An important practice for reducing the effects of global warming is the design and construction of energy-efficient buildings. In design education, the full comprehension of thermal behavior in buildings based on their geometry and material composition is required. The complexity of energy simulation principles, vis-a-vis the number of elements that impact the energy loads, their linkages, and their relationships to one another all combine to make this a challenging subject to absorb. Virtual Reality (VR) provides an immersive way to learn the concepts of building energy responses; however, the development of VR applications for education is difficult due to the knowledge, skill, and performance resource-related gaps. Unoptimized VR applications can adversely impact learning if user experiences are broken due to performance lags. This research, therefore, explores VR as a teaching tool for building energy education while showcasing the development process toward a visually accurate simulation and performant application. We developed EnergySIM; a multi-user VR building energy simulation prototype of the famous Farnsworth House. Using this prototype, we document rigorously tested development workflows for improved VR game performance, high visual fidelity, and user interaction, the three key factors which positively contribute to user knowledge retention. The study combines menu-driven interaction, virtual exploration, and miniature model manipulation approaches with the aim of testing user understanding and knowledge retention. Highlighted results provide reduced barriers of entry for educators towards developing higher quality educational VR applications. EnergySIM showcases pre-simulated building exterior surface heatmaps response from four seasons (winter, summer, fall, and spring) alongside an all-year-round sun-hour scenario. Four different material pre-simulated scenarios (single glazing, double glazing, concrete, and wood) for interior atmospheric temperature mapping are also explored. Preferred interaction methods are documented by allowing users’ visual appraisal of alternative building materials based on insulation capacity or resistance to heat flow (R-value). The significance of this work lies in its potential to revolutionize how students, designers, and instructors approach building energy education in today’s world. EnergySIM provides a hands-on and visually engaging learning experience towards the enhancement of knowledge retention and understanding. It pushes the boundaries of development for visual fidelity using geometry/mesh modeling input from various software into game engines and optimizing game performance using the HTC Vive Pro Eye and Meta Quest Pro headsets.