Virtual reality laboratories: a review of experiences

Laboratory experiences are critical to the learning process across all domains of engineering, due to the fact that information technology has changed the educational laboratory landscape. Three general laboratory types are found in engineering education; namely, hands-on, virtual and remote; each of them with its own advantages and drawbacks. In this paper, various types of university laboratories around the world are described to present the updated state-of-the-art. Additionally, a discussion regarding the educational effectiveness of each laboratory format is discussed. Finally, a case study of the development and implementation of virtual reality laboratories and remote labs at Tecnologico de Monterrey is presented. Early results have demonstrated that the virtual labs are a viable option to complement and/or replace hands-on labs, mainly because of their low investment, low maintenance costs and ease of replication to meet user demand and, above all, because of their great impact on the new teaching paradigms, where it is necessary to encourage active learning and the development of skills based on challenges. In addition to reviewing the most characteristic learning outcomes of each type of laboratory, different elements that influence the success of teaching and learning processes, such as presence, belief, and collaboration, etc., are reviewed. We hope that this research will serve as a guide for designs of individual, blended or hybrid types of laboratories used for experimental teaching in engineering education.