# Mixed Reality-Based Robotics Education--Supervisor Perspective on Thesis Works
## 1 Introduction
These findings underscore Mixed and Virtual Reality efficacy in enhancing student engagement, comprehension, and retention by enabling immersive and interactive learning experiences. The paper concludes that immersive technologies have the potential to revolutionize experiential learning, offering authentic, memorable, and transformative educational experiences across disciplines. Combining the identified potentials of immersive technologies and the challenges of industrial robotics education (still mostly performed using slides/books, 2D simulations tools, or in the best cases, physical lab exercises with costly industrial robot systems), the field of the applications of Virtual and Mixed Reality in robotics education has evolved over recent years. [PERSON] et al. (2016) explore the use of augmented and virtual reality as educational tools to enhance learning in robotics. The authors discuss how immersive experiences foster integrative thinking skills by enabling students to interact with complex robotic systems in a controlled, simulated environment. The study emphasizes the pedagogical benefits of AR/VR, including improved conceptual understanding and the ability to visualize abstract concepts, which are particularly beneficial in STEM education contexts. The survey paper of [PERSON] et al. reviews recent advancements in AR applications within the field of robotics. It highlights how AR has been increasingly integrated into robotic systems for education and industry, facilitating intuitive human-robot interaction and enhancing training efficiency. The paper categorizes applications based on their technical approaches and use cases, emphasizing the potential of AR to improve both practical skill acquisition and conceptual learning in robotics education ([PERSON] et al., 2016). One area that requires a higher level of interaction with models displayed in AR are digital twins. [PERSON] et al. (2018) developed an AR application that enables the programming of real robots. For this, a digital twin is operated by the user within the application, and the relevant points are saved which the real robot should approach. [PERSON] and [PERSON] presented an MR application using Microsoft Hololens 2 in combination with an ABB Gofa robot in a collaborative industrial use case to evaluate the simplification of human-robot interaction based on a digital twin representation ([PERSON] et al., 2018). A similar approach, with more focus on the spatial computing and different methods to interact with a robot (in this paper, mobile and industrial robots are evaluated) also using Hololens 2, was presented by [PERSON] et al. [20]. In their review paper, \"Augmented Reality for Robotics\", [PERSON] and [PERSON] [21] evaluated and summarized 100 research works over 5 years. The authors classified the works into four application areas: (1) medical robotics: robot-assisted surgery (RAS), prosthetics, rehabilitation, and training systems; (2) motion planning and control: trajectory generation, robot programming, simulation, and manipulation; (3) human-robot interaction (HRI): teleoperation, collaborative interfaces, wearable robots, haptic interfaces, brain-computer interfaces (BCIs), and gaming; and (4) multi-agent systems: use of visual feedback to remotely control drones, robot swarms, and robots with shared workspace. Although summarizing various insights like the shift towards human-robot collaboration and the significant role of AR in this context or future directions of the research field--AR in robotics--it appears that none of the 100 evaluated works dealt with using AR in robotics for education or training. In their literature review on immersive learning, [PERSON] and [PERSON] [22] highlight several studies on VR as well as MR/AR with identified benefits for use in education. Affective gains included curiosity, interest, enjoyment, satisfaction, self-efficacy, intrinsic motivation, and creativity. In particular, for STEM education in VR, the immersive hands-on practice improves cognitive and meta-cognitive competencies. [PERSON] et al.