G4M

Computer–Aided Manufacturing (CAM) technologies are often inadequately embedded in the education and training of Higher Education Institutes. There is a large number of engineering graduates and workers who lack advanced or basic CAM programming skills. As a result, they eventually fail to enter the competitive labor market and satisfy employers’ needs. A new generation of engineering students grown up in a digital world finds traditional teaching of shop-floor manufacturing concepts less engaging. The proposed G4M will address these issues putting forward a comprehensive Serious Gaming (SG) methodology embedded in formal instructional protocols of CAM training. Such training can also occur remotely, ultimately resulting in the physical handling of expensive machinery operating real-world applications. The challenge is to integrate engaging new forms of CAM learning based on gamified instructional environments with hands-on machining, converting machine handling and programming from being often a rather uninteresting task to an engaging engineering process. The ultimate goal is the successful recruitment of skilled engineers as well as their efficient training to handle expensive machinery.

Reforming engineering education curricula through gamified CAM, simulation and machining training will empower learners to handle complicated programming CAM concepts and motivate them to apply this knowledge in real-world machinery. The effectiveness of such training will be assessed by measurable training outcomes, in both university and industry. The gap between CAM and the need for safety in the lab will be bridged. SG training will immerse the trainer and trainee in simulated scenarios through modern visualization technologies such as Virtual and Augmented Reality. Trainees will achieve high levels of scientific skills for the purpose of enhancing competitiveness. The goal of modernizing CAM education through SGs could only materialize by the collaboration of academia and industry. The partners have extensive expertise on CAM along with expertise on the Design and Implementation of Serious Games for education.