Abstract:

In recent times, numerous institutions in the field of education have embraced the concept of digital twins (DT) to enable students around the world to participate in an entirely new teaching paradigm, largely forced by the Covid-19 pandemic [1,2]. In the specific field of engineering education, this changes began to be noticeable even earlier [3].

In this context, the idea of developing virtual twins of automated systems to support industrial automation courses in engineering degrees came to mind. Among the range of available options, we decided to use the Virtual Universe Pro software to generate digital representation of existing or planned industrial installations. Virtual Universe Pro is a software for simulation of automation components that facilitates observation, simulation and interaction with control systems. It can be connected to different types of PLCs (Programmable Logic Controllers), which are widely used in today's industry, making it a very interesting tool to understand and learn their operation and facilitating the application of the knowledge acquired in the classroom to real environments in a very dynamic and visual way [4].

This paper presents the results from the use of several of the case studies developed in different degrees of the School of Industrial Engineering of the University of Extremadura. These examples have been used both in theoretical classes and in laboratory practices. In addition to discussing each of the examples given, a part of this work is devoted to analyzing the results of the surveys conducted with the students who had used them.

Finally, we also present the first results of including the systems designed in virtual universe pro in immersive virtual reality experiences for use in VR headsets.

References:
[1] A. Liljaniemi, H. Paavilainen, “Using Digital Twin Technology in Engineering Education. Course Concept to Explore Benefits and Barriers,” Open Engineering, vol. 10, no. 1, pp. 377–385, 2020.
[2] M. Mashalya, “Connecting the Twins: A Review on Digital Twin Technology ¬its Networking Requeriments”, Procedia Computer Science, vol.184, pp. 299–305, 2021.
[3] J. Froyd, P. Wankat, K. Smith, “Five Major Shifts in 100 Years of Engineering Education”, Proceedings of the IEEE, vol. 100, pp.1344-1360, 2012
[4] Virtual Universe pro. https://www.solidworks.com/es/partner-product/virtual-universe-pro.

Keywords:

Digital twin, simulation, Virtual Universe Pro, automation, RV.