# Portable VR Welding Simulator
## 5 Discussion  
Comparing the proposed VR welding simulator to commercialized solutions that are mature in terms of technology and refined to meet users' needs allows us to make some remarks with regards to its advantages, disadvantages, and recommended or possible development directions. Generally, VR welding simulators are designed in such a way that the user neither can substitute any of the hardware components nor has to use their own hardware component or components. An example of an exception--identified within the study--is guideWELD(r) VR, the implementation of which requires a user's computer set (a computer unit and a monitor) that meets the defined system requirements. It seems that developers of VR welding simulators take into consideration that there is a demand for portable versions of their solutions; they offer product variants that can be assembled on and used at a table. It can also be observed that VR welding simulators are developed as a 'complete training system'. They are not limited to delivering virtual welding tasks. They also include a database system in which the data regarding students, trainers, carried-out tasks (scores, recordings of the weld creation, etc. ), and learning materials are stored. In the proposed VR welding simulator, the software part is located on the server and is accessed via an Internet browser, and the minimum requirement with regards to hardware is a wireless VR set (VR goggles and VR controllers) that is available on the market at a reasonable price. This makes the solution highly portable and affordable. The controllers are used as a reference to establish the location of the virtual welding coupon and the virtual welding torch in the VR scene in which the welding task is carried out. They can be mounted on the 3D-printed customized welding torch and the 3D-printed customized welding coupons that are optional hardware components of the VR welding simulator. The use of these 3D printouts contributes to the users' feeling of carrying out the welding operation in real life. The VR controller assigned to the virtual welding torch in the 3D scene serves as the handle of the torch, and a switch on the VR controller serves as the trigger of the torch. This enables users to carry out welding tasks without having a welding torch (or its replica, e.g., a 3D-printed one), which might be seen as an advantage when comparing to other solutions, but at the same time, the following limitations of the VR welding simulator can be indicated:  
* The user holds a VR controller instead of the handle of a welding torch or its replica; thus, the welding operation carried out in the VR environment only partly reflects the real one. Figure 17: (**a**) An example of the location of the informative label in relation to the virtual welding coupon and the virtual welding torch, in the case of vertically positioned elements to be welded; (**b**) the informative label translated into English. * The user cannot wear protective gloves. These limitations were not raised by the welding trainers who tested the simulator. In the authors' opinions, the main implication of these limitations is that the VR welding simulator should be used to support an initial training of novice welders. It enables users to learn what the welding parameters mean in practice and how a welding torch should be moved and oriented towards the welded elements to meet the required values of the welding parameters; however, it only partly enables them to acquire the skill of moving and orienting a real welding torch properly. Finding a solution to that problem might be a subject of further work on the VR welding simulator. In particular, the 3D-printed customized welding torch can be redesigned in a way that both enables users to hold it by the handle, in a similar way to a real welding torch, and enables them to mount a VR controller on it. To introduce such a modification in design, relevant changes will also have to be introduced in the software component of the VR welding simulator.