The development of VR fieldtrips for geoscience curricula

Fieldwork is a central component of geoscience education. It provides students with significant cognitive benefits and allows them to develop essential professional skills through direct engagement with the real world. However, recent studies uncovered the challenges and the exclusionary dimension of fieldwork. This is particularly relevant for students with disabilities, as well as financial and accessibility constraints. Moreover, the recent COVID-19 pandemic posed a significant threat to fieldwork globally, emphasising the need to explore viable alternatives to enhance fieldwork accessibility. To address these issues, this project proposes a workflow to develop VR (virtual reality) fieldtrips for geoscience curricula at University College Cork. This is accomplished using UAVs (Uncrewed Aerial Vehicles) to acquire high-resolution photogrammetric data, which are processed via Agisoft Metashape into 3D reconstructions of Garryvoe Beach in South-East Cork. These are scaled models that are imported into Unity, a cross-platform game engine, and integrated into the 3D VR environment. In this project, Unity is used to develop an interactive and immersive “walk-through” of the fieldtrip, drawing upon its recent successful applications within the geosciences. The results of this study demonstrate the potential of employing UAV photogrammetry and free-access game engines to develop a transferable, cost-effective framework for institutions seeking to implement VR-enhanced field education.