Theoretical model and practical analysis of immersive industrial design education based on virtual reality technology

With the deepening advancement of informatization, higher education has embraced new technology educational tools. However, the superficiality and overemphasis on theory in China’s industrial design education are facing significant challenges. Immersive industrial design instruction offers possibility for enhancing students’ learning experiences, making them more enriching and practical. Theoretical foundations, such as constructivism learning theory, cognitive learning theory, and multisensory stimulus theory, provide guidance for immersive industrial design instruction from the perspectives of the external environment, bodily perception, and psychological states. Technologically, virtual reality, augmented reality, and digital twin technologies drive and support the shaping and optimization of immersive experiences in industrial design instruction. Hence, this study establishes an immersive industrial design education model based on virtual reality technology. In practical terms, experiment participants engage in product design practices through a virtual reality-based immersive teaching platform. Taking the example of surgical bed design within a medical system and interactive operations during certain surgical procedures, participants complete human-product interaction design and interface design by practicing product design, mastering internal structures, dimensions, assembly relationships, color, materials, finishing, and rendering product-environment scenarios. The study employs the UTAUT2 survey questionnaire to analyze and investigate the proposed immersive industrial design teaching platform. The findings confirm that immersive industrial design instruction offers advantages in terms of novelty, usability, and enjoyment. It can stimulate students’ interest in learning, enhance learning efficiency, and thus significantly improve instructional effectiveness, demonstrating higher educational value.