Haptic simulation as a tool to explain the relationships between force, field, potential and energy for point electric charges

As part of the academic training of an engineering student, the laws associated with electromagnetism represent a subject whose theory and practice represent the bases of understanding other training disciplines, alluding to electronics, telecommunications, digital and analog systems. The bases to understand the physics of electromagnetism correspond to electrostatics; to this end, the topics associated with force, field, potential and energy for point electric charges correspond to the topics addressed in this contribution. A technological platform is proposed, designed to strengthen the principles of electrostatics from visual and kinesthetic stimulation. Studies associated with neurophysiological perception, with a focus on the learning process, argue that involving a greater number of sensory channels strengthens the understanding of knowledge that typically considers conventional strategies such as presentations and blackboard management. The platform is proposed with two haptic devices whose dynamics are controlled based on the evaluation of physical laws, as well as the data modified online by the student. The virtual reality environment is based on a graphical representation of a system of electrical charges, associated with each of the end effectors of the haptic devices. To do this, Unity 3D is used as a cross-platform tool for the integration of the virtual environment; the force commands, calculated from the physical laws of electrostatics, are sent to the haptic devices from C# scripts in real time. The workload index was verified through the NASA TLX protocol, in which 10 engineering students with theoretical knowledge of electricity and magnetism were evaluated.