Fire protection in virtual laboratories
Interview with Professor Koenders
2020/04/23 by Astrid Ludwig
Laboratory experiments are a challenge for digital teaching during the corona crisis. Professor Eddie Koenders from the Institute of Construction and Building Materials and his colleague Professor Uwe Rüppel from the Institute of Numerical Methods and Informatics in Civil Engineering had a brilliant idea in 2019. With the support of student assistants, they programmed and developed a virtual building physics laboratory for students using VR goggles and a smartphone. Their “VR4Teach” project received the Athene Award for Digital Teaching from the Carlo and Karin Giersch Foundation.
Professor Koenders, how did the project come about and what has been your experience of “VR4Teach”?
I always like to try out new things. The idea originated from a discussion I had with my colleague Professor Rüppel. He already had some experience with virtual reality (VR) and his institute had their own VR laboratory. We had the idea of using virtual reality to link together the areas of computer science and building physics. VR is also an interesting subject in the building industry. The technology generates a realistic impression, so that you feel as if you are actually on site. It is sometimes so realistic that some people feel dizzy when using the VR goggles. Overall, “VR4Teach” was very well received by the around 30 students.
How did the collaboration work?
The project was developed using a multidisciplinary approach and validated in a lecture held at the Institute of Construction and Building Materials. Student assistants were able to use the VR laboratory at the Institute of Numerical Methods and Informatics in Civil Engineering to help them develop “VR4Teach” and gain some initial insights into the different applications for this technology in engineering sciences. It was a nice cooperation that ran for one semester in total. We worked on the idea and the requirements analysis together, whereby the team headed by Professor Rüppel supplied the VR software and we provided input from a building physics perspective.
The project ultimately developed VR goggles that students linked to their smartphone, which in turn connected up to the server. It worked really well for the students and also at a colloquium in 2019 hosted by the Institute of Construction and Building Materials, to which material science professors from across Germany were invited. Other colleagues were also very impressed.
This VR application allows you to see what really happens and what things are important. It was fantastic for the students.
What exactly did you use this technology for?
The aim was for students to use the VR goggles to help them view cold bridges in a room or structure and detect moisture. We started off with this initial aim and were able to implement it very successfully. The project then developed a dynamic of its own and other applications from the area of fire protection were added.
How did that work?
We simulated a fire in a shared apartment for students. The simulation showed the entire living room with a couch and a Christmas tree in the corner of the room, which burst into flames at some point in time. We visualised the changes in thermal energy and temperature, the development of smoke gas, how new fires are ignited, how quickly smoke develops and how little time there is to search for an escape route before nothing more can be clearly seen. The visualisations were very realistic and you really had the feeling that you were actually there.
What did you aim to demonstrate here?
We wanted to link theory with reality and integrate this reality into our realisation tables. This VR application allows you to see what really happens and what things are important. It was fantastic for the students.
Can VR be used to replace laboratory exercises during the corona crisis?
We have to examine the extent to which we can offer these exercises online. And it will be highly dependent on a stable Internet connection. We may need to consider other solutions in some cases during the corona crisis. This situation is new for everyone – whether you are a teacher or a student. We firstly need to find the right approach for us.
What are you offering students at the start of the digital semester?
First of all, we will be making our lectures and exercises available via learning platforms such as “Moodle”. For this purpose, we plan to hold lectures live via the Zoom platform and also to offer recorded lectures. We have already used the Moodle exercise module very intensively in the past and it has worked very well for the preparation and follow-up phases at home. We load exercises onto the platform that the students can use to agree on research questions in a very efficient way and which will also appear later on in the same or similar form in written examinations. I highly recommend that my students use the platform when they are preparing for examinations.
And what about laboratory practicals?
That is a real challenge. We hope that it might be possible for us to return to the laboratories working in shifts or in small groups at the end of June or the beginning of July. I was also once a student myself and I know how much you learn in the laboratory. Students also want to be able to experience things in a practical setting. A practical such as a concrete experiment is simply different to a slide or a video. However, we want to prepare for these practicals digitally by, for example, designing concrete mixtures or carrying our calculations at home as a substitute for laboratory work. This will mean that everything should run much quicker when we are once again able to return to the laboratory in the summer.
