Architectural Anatomy XR

Project Lead: Alan McDonnell, Lecturer in Design Engineering at TU Dublin 

School: School of Mechanical Engineering 

Faculty: Faculty of Engineering, Built Environment and Apprenticeships 

Contact Details: alan.mcdonnell@tudublin.ie  | 01 220 6751 

Project Description: Architectural Anatomy XR 

• This project is a cross-discipline development leveraging multiple areas of technical expertise and practical capabilities within the School of Mechanical Engineering and the School of Architecture, Building, and Environment (SABE). 
• Using Meta Quest 3 XR headsets, students will work together in weekly sessions to collaboratively build a ‘physical’ model in ‘digital’ space, exploring individual facets of building construction and technology. 

Why am I running this project? 

• Without bringing students to site, they do not typically comprehend the full scale of work and effort required to build even the simplest of physical structures; and there is no simple solution or current capacity to provide such an experience. 
• The project is an enhancement of a substantial, existing learning activity, where the current mode is completed individually by students using CAD software with minor capacity to explore a single-user Virtual Reality (VR) interaction.
• This new intervention will be developed as a complete real-time, multi-user Extended Reality (XR) experience, and will be an exciting mode of innovative education technology. 
• It will allow students to engage with building construction concepts in a more realistic and scalable capacity.
• The exploration of the educational nature of project collaboration is also very appropriate.  

What have I achieved so far? 

• Engaged with Kirk McCormack, Head of Architectural Technologies and owner of the existing learning activity, who has developed a demo-version VR app which is used for teaching and exploring building construction assemblies, to identify finite enhancements to the existing mode of delivery and document our specific goals for the project development. 
• Secured SATLE funding to provide scope for software development and testing, and facilitate a fleet of XR headsets for use
• Identified potential student capacity/participation in the initial rollout of the project
• Aligned the expected student deliverables of this project with existing deliverables, whilst re-defining how the technology enhancement affects the completion of student work within the module