Professor Jadidi is taking learning to new heights: VR Drone Training at Lassonde

This story originally appeared in YFile

Mojgan Jadidi, an associate professor in the Department of Civil Engineering at York University’s Lassonde School of Engineering, is looking to create more entertaining ways for undergraduate students to learn – in this case, how to pilot drones through a gamified virtual reality (VR) experience.

Who says engineering class can’t be fun and games? 

Certainly not Jadidi. 

Jadidi – who is also the director of common engineering at Lassonde – and her team are developing a program that will allow students to learn to fly drones through virtual reality.

Engineers need the skill set of flying a drone in their work for a variety of reasons, said Jadidi. Civil engineers could fly drones to measure a construction site or to inspect a building or survey infrastructure. They could use them to collect data or solve logistics problems in the supply chain, use them for deliveries or emergency management.  

Jadidi wants to create a program that will help engineering students learn that skill set while having all the fun of playing a video game. 

“Virtual reality technologies have become a fun activity for the current generation – maybe for me as well,” Jadidi said. “Our current students are really intrigued to use it.”