Interactive and Immersive Learning Using 360° Virtual Reality Contents on Mobile Platforms

Abstract EN

Recent advances in mobile virtual reality (VR) devices have paved the way for various VR applications in education.

This paper presents a novel authoring framework for mobile VR contents and a play-based learning model for marine biology education.

For interactive and immersive mobile VR contents, we develop a multilayer 360° VR representation with image-based interactions such as mesh deformation and water simulation, which enable users to realistically interact with 360° panoramic contents without consuming excessive computational resources.

On the basis of this representation, we design and implement play-based learning scenarios to increase the interactivity and immersion of users.

Then, we verify the effectiveness of our educational scenarios using a user study in terms of user-created VR contents, interactivity, and immersion.

The results show that more experienced elements in VR contents improve the immersion of users and make them more actively involved.