Augmented Reality Enhanced Thunderstorm Learning Experiences for General Aviation
Philippe Peter Meister, Kexin Wang, Michael C. Dorneich, Eliot H. Winer, Lori J. Brown, Geoffrey Whitehurst · Journal of Air Transportation · 2022
Reviews of general aviation weather training curricula indicate gaps in how students experience different weather patterns and learn to correlate weather knowledge in weather-related situations. Augmented reality learning experiences immerse students in three-dimensional, animated, and interactive weather content. Students completing these augmented reality enhanced learning experiences have the opportunity to apply their knowledge in weather-related situations. In this study, augmented reality learning experiences were designed and developed to enhance how students learn about thunderstorms, the impacts of thunderstorms on flight, and thunderstorm avoidance. A user evaluation was conducted to assess students’ learning outcomes and experiences. The study results found that student participants significantly improved their factual knowledge and visual knowledge, reported high motivation levels, and rated the learning experiences as appropriate and usable when trained in an augmented reality environment.