The Classroom on Your Head

摘要

Airman Basic Cody Alfred has always played video games, so when offered the chance to take the virtual reality (VR) version of the Fundamentals of Aircraft Maintenance course at Sheppard Air Force Base, Texas, he jumped at it.Alfred, who is assigned to the 362nd Training Squadron, is training to be an F-35 crew chief. It took him 23 days to complete the traditional course, which included a lot of PowerPoints and time in a classroom before venturing out to the flight line to work on a real aircraft. But once he put on the VR headset, Alfred said he was having so much fun with the training, he breezed through the course in just six days.The instructors "told me I could take breaks, ... but I didn't want to because the program was just, I wouldn't say fun, because this is for professional use, but it was really engaging and the quality of training that it provided me, I just wanted to keep doing it," Alfred said.The virtual reality lab at Sheppard is about 44 feet by 35 feet, with VR stations located every 10 feet along the wall, each separated by a curtain. There is a computer monitor in front of a table at each station, and the student stands on a mat donning the VR headset.Once they put on the goggles they are immersed in a realistic three-dimensional world.