Effectiveness of Augmented Reality Visualisations in Engineering CAD Education

This paper aims to evaluate whether augmented reality (AR) visualisations can improve engineering students’ learning experience. Three AR applications were developed and then integrated into classroom exercises in a Computer-Aided Design (CAD) course. The students used applications on their smartphones, through which they manipulated AR parts’ models, visualised components’ main views and assemblies’ compositions. Subsequently, students completed a dedicated questionnaire, composed of five sections. Results showed that students prefer innovative visualisation over the traditional one, improving their understanding of complex geometries, views and assemblies. Furthermore, the findings revealed that prior familiarity with AR and VR tools did not significantly influence perceptions. The applications’ usability, assessed through the System Usability Scale (SUS), was acceptable, while the Short User Experience Questionnaire (UEQ-S) average scores were highly satisfactory. The experiment’s outcomes suggest that AR visualisations can enhance students’ learning experience of complex geometries in CAD education, showing the potential of immersive technologies as effective teaching aids in engineering.