Opportunities and challenges in virtual reality for remote and virtual laboratories

Recent technological advances and consumer level pricing for virtual reality hardware and related peripherals has led to renewed interest in its use for education and training. The design of compelling, effective and practical applications in virtual reality for education is challenging. It adds additional levels of complexity and overheads to the creation of teaching material and to ensuring a positive student experience. This paper (work in progress) explores some of the issues in the use of virtual reality in the context of remote and virtual laboratories and discusses some of the challenges and opportunities of porting existing practical labs and simulations into a virtual reality environment.