Physical phenomenon experience learning system based on immersive virtual reality technology

Abstract

This invention discloses a physical phenomenon experience learning system based on immersive virtual reality technology, comprising at least a hardware perception layer, a software platform layer, a core logic layer, and a functional module layer. In corresponding scenarios, dynamic commands are implemented through the hardware perception layer, and material attribute parameters in the physics dynamics engine are adjusted through the core logic layer to achieve interaction within the scene. This system deeply integrates experiential education concepts with virtual reality technology. By constructing a high-precision physics engine-driven, high-fidelity scene, it reconstructs ideal observation conditions such as resistance-free and customizable gravitational fields in virtual space. This facilitates a more intuitive, vivid, and cost-effective way for primary and secondary school students and the general public to overcome the limitations of real-world time and space, personally conduct classic and surreal physics experiments, effectively enhance their sense of spatial presence, and deepen their understanding of abstract physics knowledge.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to the technical fields of virtual reality technology, human-computer interaction technology and educational informatization, and mainly relates to a physical phenomenon experience learning system based on immersive virtual reality technology. Background Technology

[0002] Experiential education, a learning model centered on direct experience, active participation, and reflective practice, is widely advocated. It emphasizes promoting knowledge construction through hands-on experience, significantly enhancing learning outcomes and knowledge transfer abilities. However, in the implementation of real-world physics experiments, experiential education inevitably encounters the objective limitations of the physical world. Firstly, there is the uncontrollability of extreme conditions. For example, observing the relativistic effect of "time dilation" requires near-light speed or a strong gravitational field, which is impossible in reality; students can only imagine it through highly abstract thought experiments. Secondly, there is the challenge of historical reproduction. For instance, Galileo's experiment to verify the law of free fall at the Leaning Tower of Pisa is difficult to recreate realistically due to safety and ethical constraints; students can only imagine the scene through textual descriptions or static images. Some surreal physics experiments cannot be completed under real conditions, and classic physics stories cannot be experienced firsthand; experiential education encounters technological bottlenecks in these areas.

[0003] Virtual Reality (VR) is a computer simulation system that creates and allows users to experience virtual worlds. It uses computers to generate a simulated environment, immersing users in it. It utilizes real-world data, generating electronic signals through computer technology, and combining this with various output devices to transform it into phenomena that people can perceive, simulated and represented through three-dimensional models. Typically, head-mounted VR devices isolate the user's real vision and hearing, creating virtual visual and auditory experiences. Users can also interact with the virtual world using dedicated controllers and other interactive devices, thus creating a feeling of complete immersion in the virtual environment.

[0004] Due to its high realism and free interactivity, virtual reality (VR) is increasingly being applied to experimental teaching. Immersive VR not only significantly reduces the high costs of laboratory construction and equipment wear and tear, compensating for insufficient educational resources, but also fosters embodied cognition through multi-sensory interaction, completely overcoming the spatial and temporal limitations of real-world physics experiments. Currently, several physics experiment VR or simulation systems have emerged both domestically and internationally, such as Phyphox in Germany, Labster in Denmark, Physics VR in the United States, and the "Spark" system in China. However, a comprehensive analysis of existing virtual physics experiment projects reveals the following significant limitations:

[0005] First, they are highly dependent on hardware and have high deployment costs. Some high-end immersive systems rely heavily on expensive professional-grade VR headsets, making them difficult to widely adopt in ordinary primary and secondary schools or social science education systems.

[0006] Second: The content is too specialized, and the target audience coverage is not high. Existing systems are mostly geared towards higher education, such as Labster and Physics VR, which integrate a large number of complex experimental modules such as quantum mechanics, stellar evolution, and fluid mechanics, which are beyond the cognitive scope of basic physics learning and popular science for the general public, and lack universality.

[0007] Third, there is a general emphasis on experimental data calculations while neglecting the recreation of historical contexts. Existing systems often remain at the level of tedious parameter adjustments and verification of single principles, lacking the recreation of historical scenes and interactive narratives in the history of physics. For example, they cannot replicate retro European towns or the Leaning Tower of Pisa, resulting in insufficient interest and failing to stimulate a wide audience's desire for exploration and sense of spatial presence. Summary of the Invention

[0008] This invention addresses the problems of uneven distribution of equipment resources, poor interactive and immersive learning, and the limitations of experiential education due to extreme physical conditions and difficulties in recreating historical scenarios in existing physics experiment education. It proposes a physical phenomenon experience learning system based on immersive virtual reality technology. This system overcomes the shortcomings of existing similar physics virtual simulation systems, such as high hardware deployment barriers, overly specialized content leading to a narrow audience, and a focus on pure theoretical verification lacking historical narrative appeal. The system comprises at least a hardware perception layer, a software platform layer, a core logic layer, and a functional module layer. In corresponding scenarios, dynamic commands are implemented through the hardware perception layer, and material attribute parameters in the physics dynamics engine are adjusted through the core logic layer to achieve interaction within the scenario. This system deeply integrates experiential education concepts with virtual reality technology. By constructing a high-precision physics engine-driven, high-fidelity scenario, it reconstructs ideal observation conditions such as resistance-free and customizable gravitational fields in virtual space. This facilitates a more intuitive, vivid, and cost-effective way for primary and secondary school students and the general public to overcome the limitations of real-world time and space, personally conduct classic and surreal physics experiments, effectively enhance their sense of spatial presence, and deepen their understanding of abstract physics knowledge.

[0009] To achieve the above objectives, the technical solution adopted by this invention is: a physical phenomenon experience learning system based on immersive virtual reality technology, comprising a hardware perception layer, a software platform layer, a core logic layer, and a functional module layer.

[0010] The hardware perception layer includes at least a virtual reality head-mounted display device, a spatial positioning base station, and an interactive controller; the interactive controller has a six-degree-of-freedom tracking function and performs command interaction in conjunction with the display of the virtual reality head-mounted display device; the spatial positioning base station is used to acquire the user's pose data in three-dimensional space;

[0011] The software platform layer: loaded within the system, it constructs a three-dimensional virtual scene and physical simulation environment based on a virtual reality engine and a physics dynamics engine;

[0012] The core logic layer includes a physical property dynamic intervention module, a controller interaction control protocol module, and a data acquisition and visualization module. The data acquisition and visualization module is used to display the pose data and interaction commands acquired by the hardware perception layer at the software platform level. The physical property dynamic intervention module intercepts and modifies the material property parameters in the physics engine to perform real-time scene switching and dynamic operations in the virtual environment.

[0013] The functional module layer contains multiple different scene modules and interacts with the core logic layer. It enters the corresponding scene module by dynamically intervening in the material attribute parameters set in the physical attribute module.

[0014] The system, in the corresponding scenario, enables dynamic commands in the scenario through a virtual reality head-mounted display device and an interactive controller, and achieves interaction within the scenario by adjusting the material property parameters in the physics and dynamics engine.

[0015] As an improvement of the present invention, the functional module layer includes at least the Galileo inclined plane experiment module, the Galileo free fall experiment module, the Foucault pendulum experiment module, and the Newton cannon experiment module.

[0016] The Galileo inclined plane experiment module: By dynamically rewriting the physical material property parameters of the virtual ball and the inclined plane, setting the friction parameter to 0, and cooperating with the inclined plane angle rotation controlled by the interactive handle, the law of uniform linear motion is verified.

[0017] The Galileo free fall experiment module: a model of the Leaning Tower of Pisa is reproduced on a scale and small balls of different materials are created. By switching between the "zero gravity" mode and the "original gravity" mode, and recording and displaying the vt image of the small balls in real time, the law of free fall is verified.

[0018] The Foucault pendulum experiment module includes a global latitude-Coriolis force mapping model. Based on the geographical latitude selected by the user on the virtual world map, it automatically calculates the corresponding angular velocity and drives the virtual pendulum to generate precession motion, verifying the law of Coriolis force variation with latitude.

[0019] The Newton's Cannon Experiment Module allows users to adjust the mass of a virtual celestial body and the initial velocity scalar of a projectile using an interactive handle, and simulate satellite motion to verify the inverse square law.

[0020] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0021] (1) The system of the present invention reproduces ideal experimental conditions that cannot be achieved in reality, such as zero friction and custom gravitational field, in a virtual environment through software parameter intervention, which breaks through the limitations of reality and helps users to cross the limitations of time and space in reality in a more intuitive and vivid way, effectively improving the sense of spatial presence.

[0022] (2) The present invention combines high-fidelity historical scene modeling with virtual reality embodied interaction, making abstract physical concepts intuitive and perceptible, increasing the user's immersion and interest, and enhancing learning motivation.

[0023] (3) The system structure of the present invention is simple and is developed based on consumer-grade virtual reality equipment. Compared with high-end professional simulation equipment, it is easier to promote and popularize, with low cost and low usage threshold, and better meets the needs of the public.

[0024] (4) The teaching effect of the system after use is significant, helping users to complete learning tasks in a short time, gain a deep understanding, and improve their knowledge comprehension and application abilities. Attached Figure Description

[0025] Figure 1 This is a structural diagram of the physical phenomenon experience learning system based on immersive virtual reality technology of the present invention;

[0026] Figure 2 This is a statistical chart showing the scores and time taken in the physics questionnaire in the test examples of this invention. Detailed Implementation

[0027] The present invention will be further illustrated below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. It should be understood that the following specific embodiments are for illustrative purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention.

[0028] Example 1

[0029] A physical phenomenon experience learning system based on immersive virtual reality technology includes a hardware perception layer, a software platform layer, a core logic layer, and a functional module layer. The hardware perception layer includes at least a virtual reality head-mounted display, a spatial positioning base station, and an interactive controller; the interactive controller has six degrees of freedom tracking capabilities and interacts with commands through the display of the virtual reality head-mounted display; the spatial positioning base station is used to acquire the user's pose data in three-dimensional space; the software platform layer is loaded within the system and constructs a three-dimensional virtual scene and physical simulation environment based on a virtual reality engine and a physics dynamics engine.

[0030] The system is initialized to ensure hardware tracking accuracy is synchronized with the software scene. In the hardware perception layer, the hardware devices are first connected to the core host. The virtual reality headset is connected to the LinkBox streaming box via a three-in-one cable, and the streaming box is connected to the computer's graphics card interface and motherboard interface using HDMI and USB 3.0 cables respectively, establishing a high-bandwidth visual and motion data transmission link. An external positioning and tracking system is deployed, with two Lighthouse locators installed at a diagonal height of at least 2 meters in the experimental space. After powering on the locators, ensure they cover the entire virtual experimental area via laser scanning. The system receives laser signals reflected from the sensor points of the virtual reality headset and interactive controllers to calculate the user's absolute coordinates in three-dimensional space in real time.

[0031] At the software platform layer, the SteamVR platform on the computer is launched. The status icons for the headset, two controllers, and two positioners are all green and active. The executable file for the physics experiment system, compiled based on the Unity3D engine, is then run. The system loads the built-in SteamVR SDK, mapping the coordinate system of the Unity virtual camera to the hardware-defined physical space coordinate system in a 1:1 ratio. Global presets of physical parameters are performed. At the initial scene startup, the system background script automatically initializes the physics engine parameters, including setting the global gravity constant, defining the air resistance coefficient, and the material friction matrix, providing underlying dynamic calculation support for subsequent experiments.

[0032] Before use, spatial calibration and safety boundary settings must be performed. The user places the controller on the real ground and clicks the system calibration button to ensure the virtual scene's horizontal ground perfectly aligns with the real physical ground, guaranteeing the accuracy of the experimental height. The controller's ray is used to draw the boundaries of the movable area within the physical space. When the user, wearing the headset, approaches a physical wall or obstacle, the system triggers a virtual mesh wall warning in real time, ensuring the user's physical safety during the immersive interaction process.

[0033] During use, the user puts on the virtual reality headset, fastens the headband, and turns on the controllers. They then observe a 3D model in the virtual world that is perfectly synchronized with the physical controllers. The user confirms the system's response logic by pressing the trigger button. The system first loads a zero-stress scene as a buffer, guiding the user through 1-2 minutes of audiovisual adaptation. Once the user overcomes dizziness and develops spatial depth awareness, they are then launched into the "Physical Planet" main experiment interface.

[0034] The functional module layer includes at least the Galileo inclined plane experiment module, the Galileo free fall experiment module, the Foucault pendulum experiment module, and the Newton's cannon experiment module. The Galileo inclined plane experiment module dynamically rewrites the physical material properties of the virtual ball and the inclined plane, sets the friction parameter to 0, and verifies the law of uniform linear motion by rotating the inclined plane angle controlled by an interactive handle. The Galileo free fall experiment module proportionally recreates the Leaning Tower of Pisa model and creates balls of different materials. By switching between "zero gravity" and "original gravity" modes and recording and displaying the ball's vt image in real time, it verifies the law of free fall. The Foucault pendulum experiment module includes a global latitude-Coriolis mapping model. Based on the geographical latitude selected by the user on the virtual world map, it automatically calculates the corresponding angular velocity and drives the virtual pendulum to generate precession motion, verifying the law of Coriolis force variation with latitude. The Newton's cannon experiment module allows users to adjust the mass of a virtual celestial body and the initial velocity scalar of the projectile using an interactive handle, simulating satellite motion and verifying the inverse square law.

[0035] This invention's system, based on the SteamVR interaction framework and 6-DoF spatial tracking technology, constructs a strong causal interaction mechanism of "action input → physical variables → simulation output." The system captures the spatial pose matrix and instantaneous acceleration vector of the user's interactive controller in real time. For example, in the interaction of throwing a ball, the system not only identifies the Boolean states of grabbing and releasing, but also extracts the magnitude of the controller's velocity vector at the moment of release through an algorithm, and directly assigns it to the initial momentum (AddForce, velocity) of the virtual ball's rigid body according to preset conversion coefficients. This achieves a embodied interactive mapping that "the greater the user's arm swing force, the higher the initial velocity of the ball, and the farther the trajectory," transforming abstract mechanical input into intuitive visual feedback. This invention's system provides a universal 3D raycasting interface, supporting users to accurately locate and adjust environmental variables in virtual space, such as the slope angle and initial launch velocity, achieving unified operation logic.

[0036] This invention's system, through its underlying C# script, strips away and takes over the default rigidbody dynamics calculations of commercial physics engines. For simulations of ideal environments such as "absolute smoothness" and "no resistance," the system introduces continuous collision detection and a forced mechanical energy conservation algorithm in the FixedUpdate physics frame to dynamically compensate for kinetic energy dissipation and clipping errors caused by floating-point calculations. In thought experiments, the system introduces a custom mathematical model for driving the process, such as utilizing the inverse square law (…). Reconstruct the radial center gravitational field to achieve high-precision simulation of macroscopic celestial bodies and the Coriolis force.

[0037] Example 2

[0038] Using the system described in Example 1, when the Galileo inclined plane experiment module is selected in the functional module layer, the system loads a retro experimental scene based on an indoor European city background. This embodiment focuses on simulating the real equipment operation logic through the near-field displacement of the interactive handle and the combination of button presses to verify the law of uniform linear motion.

[0039] This module is designed for immersive physics teaching scenarios, aiming to transform "abstract understanding of laws" into "interactive, observable, and reproducible" experimental processes. The system employs a layered, decoupled development approach, linking interactive input, parameter control, physical simulation, state visualization, and experiment management through a unified event mechanism to achieve real-time mapping from user actions to physical results. At the implementation level, the system relies on components such as Rigidbody, Collider, Transform, Raycast, and TextMeshPro to complete the computation and feedback loop, emphasizing that "changes in action intensity can be perceived by the results." That is, the more pronounced the user's action, the more significant the change in the sphere's initial motion state, and the more intuitive the difference in flight distance and ascent height.

[0040] The system supports interaction between desktop and VR platforms. On the desktop, BallonClick and BalloonDestroy handle object generation and cleanup, instantiate sphere objects at the hit point, and reset the initial linear and angular velocities of the Rigidbody to zero, ensuring consistency of initial experimental values. On the VR platform, SteamVRTouchTrigger implements the hand-triggered logic, combining TriggerCollider and UnityEvent to drive parameter switching and experimental control, and employing a legitimate hand collision detection mechanism to reduce the risk of false triggers.

[0041] The core value of this interactive mapping method lies in transforming "grabbing / triggering actions" into simulated inputs, allowing users to directly perceive the causal relationship between "input changes and movement changes" through physical actions, thereby enhancing immersion and learning engagement.

[0042] To support inquiry-based learning, the system provides access to key variables such as slope angle, track scale, and conservation correction switches. Parameter control is achieved collaboratively by RotateSlope3, ScaleButton, and EnergyControlButton: the first two are used to adjust Transform.localEulerAngles and Transform.localScale at runtime, while the latter is used to uniformly switch the conservation strategy state. After parameter updates, the simulation layer and the display layer respond synchronously, allowing users to complete "parameter tuning—observation—comparison—re-tuning" within the same experimental workflow, forming a WYSIWYG feedback loop. This method increases the interaction density of the teaching process and significantly enhances the interpretability of experimental phenomena.

[0043] The physics layer performs basic motion calculations based on rigid body dynamics and collision systems, with key calculations running in FixedUpdate. To address energy decay and trajectory drift issues in discrete simulations, the system employs a combined strategy of EnergyConservation and LockAxisOnTrack: the former records the target height during the release phase and estimates the required velocity based on the height difference and gravity relationship, then progressively compensates for rb.velocity while limiting triggering conditions and single-frame increments to avoid sudden velocity changes; the latter constrains velocity components as needed during track contact, reducing drift in non-target directions. This method improves the consistency of multiple rounds of experiments while maintaining motion continuity, making the results closer to theoretical expectations, and is suitable for repeated verification and comparative observation in a teaching environment.

[0044] The status display is handled collaboratively by BallDisplay and SlopeDetector. The system dynamically binds to the currently observed sphere via a collision / trigger mechanism, continuously reading Rigidbody.velocity.magnitude and relative reference height, and updating the TextMeshPro text output in real time. A separate update strategy is used for the display layer and the physical layer to ensure real-time performance while controlling unnecessary refresh overhead. Through dual-channel feedback of "trajectory phenomena + numerical readings," users can not only observe the sphere's movement but also directly read changes in velocity and height, significantly improving the readability of experimental results and the depth of instructional explanation.

[0045] Galileo's inclined plane experiment was carried out through the following steps:

[0046] First, the environment is initialized. The system loads a retro-style European city virtual scene, with materials sourced from the Asset Store, and generates a sloping model consisting of a release area and a scrolling area in the center of the scene.

[0047] Next, the tilt angle is dynamically adjusted. A control panel is set up next to the experimental setup. Users can trigger the corresponding script for the slope height by touching the button, thus changing the experimental variables.

[0048] Then, physical property intervention is performed. The system intercepts the material properties of the physics engine through a C# script, forcibly setting the friction coefficient between the ball and the inclined plane and the air resistance parameters to 0, thereby constructing a "resistance-free ideal environment" that is impossible to achieve in reality.

[0049] Finally, after the ball is released by the Trigger button on the handle, the system calculates the gravitational components of the ball at different inclination angles in real time. Under a frictionless ideal environment, the system calculates the motion vector of the ball on the inclined plane in real time using the following state transition equation:

[0050]

[0051] Where p is displacement and v is instantaneous velocity. The slope angle is adjusted in real time via the handle, and g is the system's preset gravitational acceleration.

[0052] When the ball enters the horizontal area ( When (=0), the acceleration term returns to zero, and the system is forced to maintain (=0). This allows for perfect verification of uniform linear motion at the program's underlying logic. Displacement, velocity, and height data are simultaneously output to the UI, verifying the law that "an object will maintain uniform linear motion when no force is applied to it on a horizontal surface."

[0053] Example 3

[0054] Using the system described in Example 1, when the Galileo free fall experiment module is selected in the functional module layer, the law of free fall is verified through the Galileo free fall experiment interaction process.

[0055] Regarding the real-time display of ball speed, this module in Unity achieves this by reading the rigid body velocity and updating the UI text. The system first adds Rigidbody components to both balls to obtain their real-time velocities during the physics simulation. Simultaneously, two TextMeshProUGUI text boxes are set in the interface to display the current velocity values ​​of the two balls respectively. To facilitate object binding in the editor, the script SpeedMonitor declares the rigid body objects ball1Rigidbody and ball2Rigidbody, as well as the two text box objects ball1SpeedText and ball2SpeedText, as public variables, and completes the drag-and-drop association in the Inspector panel.

[0056] In the speed update logic, the code sets a timer and an update interval of 0.1 seconds. The program accumulates time by adding the timer to the deltatime. When the accumulated time reaches the set interval, it calls the UpdateSpeedDisplay() method to update the speed display and resets the timer. This approach ensures good real-time speed information while reducing the performance overhead of frequent UI refreshes.

[0057] In its implementation, the program obtains the current velocity vectors of the two balls using `ball1Rigidbody.velocity` and `ball2Rigidbody.velocity` respectively, then calculates the magnitude of the velocity vectors using `magnitude`, thus obtaining the actual velocity values ​​of the balls. Subsequently, the script uses string formatting to retain two decimal places and writes the results into two text boxes, displaying them as "Sphere1 Speed: xx.xx m / s" and "Sphere2 Speed: xx.xx m / s". This achieves dynamic monitoring and visual display of the velocities of the two balls.

[0058] This feature reflects the real-time velocity changes of the two balls during the experiment, allowing participants to not only observe the ball motion but also directly read the corresponding velocity data. Compared to simple visual observation, the velocity display function enhances the intuitiveness and interpretability of the experimental results, helping learners better understand the velocity change patterns during object motion and further improving the system's teaching demonstration effect.

[0059] Regarding the ball's state control function, three operations—"ball loses gravity," "ball regains gravity," and "ball resets with one click"—are implemented through trigger scripts, thereby enhancing the controllability and interactivity of the experiment. All three functions are implemented through the OnHandHoverBegin(Hand hand) event response. That is, when the user's hand controller approaches the designated interactive object, the system automatically executes the corresponding operation, coupled with haptic feedback, color changes, and console information prompts, allowing the user to promptly perceive changes in the current state.

[0060] In the gravity elimination function, the script DisableGravityTrigger stores the rigid bodies of the ball that need to be controlled in the targetBalls array. When the user's hand hovers over the trigger object, the program iterates through each Rigidbody in the array and sets its useGravity property to false, thereby disabling the gravitational force acting on the ball. In this way, the ball can remain in its current state, making it easier for the user to observe the motion effect under zero gravity conditions.

[0061] In the gravity restoration function, the script `RestoreGravityTrigger` also uses the `targetBalls` array as the control object. After the event is triggered, the program sequentially resets the `useGravity` property of all the rigid bodies of the balls to `true`, allowing the balls to regain the influence of gravity; at the same time, it resets the `drag` parameter to `0f`, ensuring that the balls return to their motion state under the default drag conditions. This allows the experimental object to run according to normal physical laws again.

[0062] In the reset function, the script `ResetBallsTrigger` not only restores gravity but also resets the position, rotation, and velocity states of the balls. To achieve this, the script first records the initial pose information of each ball in the `Awake()` method, including position and rotation, and stores this data in a custom `InitialState` structure list. This allows the system to accurately read the initial state of each ball when a reset is needed later. After triggering the reset event, the program performs the following operations on each ball in sequence: first, restores gravity and resets the drag parameters; then, clears `velocity` and `angularVelocity` to zero, eliminating the ball's current linear and angular velocities to prevent it from continuing to slide or rotate after the reset; finally, it directly assigns the ball's `transform.position` and `transform.rotation` to the initial recorded values, instantly returning it to its initial position and orientation. After the function is completed, the system provides strong vibration feedback to notify the user that the reset has been executed, and changes the trigger material color to blue to distinguish it from the other two state switching operations.

[0063] With the aforementioned functions, the system not only improves the flexibility of experimental operations but also enhances the real-time feedback and repeatability of experiments during VR interaction, thereby further improving the overall experimental experience and teaching demonstration effect. Therefore, in its use, environmental materials such as the Leaning Tower of Pisa and skyboxes are first imported, and experimental equipment such as balls and desktops are added. Different materials are assigned to the balls, and a mode-switching block is added. Next, components such as Mesh Colider are added to the scene objects to ensure the collision attributes and physical properties of objects in the scene. Components such as rigidbody are added to the balls to assign them gravity properties, allowing the balls to fall freely. Simultaneously, a C# script is written for the mode-switching block, enabling it to turn gravity on / off and reset the balls upon contact. A floating canvas is created as a data display board. The real-time velocity of the balls is tracked and recorded using a C# script, and the velocity values ​​are presented at a fixed sampling frequency, forming a VT image displayed on the display board for easy user observation and comparison. Finally, the law of free fall is verified through the Galileo free fall experiment.

[0064] Example 4

[0065] Using the system described in Example 1, when the Foucault pendulum module is selected in the functional module layer, the corresponding angular velocity is automatically calculated based on the geographical latitude selected by the user on the virtual world map, and the virtual pendulum is driven to generate precession motion to verify the law of the Coriolis force changing with the dimension.

[0066] The detailed model of the Foucault pendulum and its basic motion trajectory were modeled and animated in Blender. After being imported into Unity in FBX format, the system preserved its original mesh details and keyframe animation data, ensuring the smoothness and realism of the pendulum's motion. The system implemented position-based velocity control logic through the RotatorController script. The script monitors a specified object; in this module, the Y-axis position of Interactive_Handle_A in the local coordinate system was selected, and it was mapped between the North Pole (northPoleLocalY), the equator (equatorLocalY), and the South Pole (southPoleLocalY). The system uses the Mathf.Lerp algorithm to convert the physical position into the corresponding rotational angular velocity (rotation_speed), dynamically simulating the precession characteristics of the Foucault pendulum at different latitudes.

[0067] BoardGroup is the core hub for users to obtain experimental information and interact in real time, and includes scoreboard entities, map root nodes, and various interactive handles.

[0068] To address the operational characteristics of VR controllers, the project developed the VrMarkerFollow script. This feature ensures that the world coordinates of the visual marker are locked onto the interactive handheld controller in real time. To prevent coordinate shifts caused by accidental touches or physical overlap, the system incorporates automatic Z-axis correction logic: when the controller is detected to be stationary for more than zCorrectionDelay, the system automatically resets the object's Z-axis coordinates to their initial safe position, ensuring the stability of the interaction.

[0069] The information panel uses the SpeedDisplayUpdater script to summarize experimental data in real time. This component supports dynamic list loading and can simultaneously poll the speed status of multiple Foucault pendulum controllers in the scene. By traversing the list and accumulating the rotation_speed, the system uses the TextMeshPro plugin to display the cumulative rotation speed on the UI panel in real time, providing users with intuitive quantitative analysis data.

[0070] It also includes the MarkerAnimationController script. This script uses the markerAnimator.SetFloat("AnimSpeed", calculatedSpeed) interface to inject the calculated mapping speed into the Animator parameters in real time. This approach cleverly takes over the playback rate of the imported animation, allowing the rotation frequency of the visual marker to smoothly follow changes in physical parameters.

[0071] In practice, the Coriolis force simulation method based on geographic coordinate mapping is implemented through the following steps: First, latitude and longitude interactive mapping is performed. The system projects a world map model based on "Platte Carre" in virtual space. The user selects any location on the map using the controller ray, and the system calculates the corresponding geographic latitude ϕ based on the normalized coordinates of the click point on the texture. Then, the precession angular velocity is calculated. The system control unit calculates the precession angular velocity of the Foucault pendulum at the current latitude in real time according to the formula ω=Ωsinϕ, where Ω is the Earth's rotation angular velocity. The system abandons the simplified differential equation solution method and instead uses a high-precision Blender skeletal animation preset coupled with the Unity timeline. The precession of the pendulum's rotation plane is driven by the angular velocity, and the swing trajectory is drawn in real time on the rotating chassis using the Line Renderer. At the same time, the system establishes the relationship between the controller ray click point (x, y) and the geographic latitude. Linear mapping function: To drive the pendulum precession, the system constructs a time-varying rotation matrix. :

[0072]

[0073] The precession angular velocity ω = Ωsinϕ. This matrix acts on the localRotation property of the pendulum's root skeleton each frame, ensuring that the rotation of the pendulum plane relative to the virtual laboratory ground perfectly matches the physical reality of the selected geographical location. Users place multiple Foucault pendulums at different latitudes in the scene using the controller and verify the physical law of the Coriolis force varying with latitude through comparative observation.

[0074] Through the above technical solutions, this module successfully transforms complex scientific principles into a perceptible and interactive virtual simulation experience. While ensuring the rigor of physical logic, it significantly improves the teaching and demonstration effect of the system by utilizing cross-software animation workflows.

[0075] Example 5

[0076] Using the system described in Example 1, when the Newton's Cannon Experiment module is selected in the functional module layer, an interactive and controllable three-dimensional physical simulation system is constructed in a virtual reality environment based on the classic Newton's Cannon thought experiment. Developed using the Unity3D engine, this system achieves functions such as ball launch, motion observation, and trajectory analysis through custom gravity algorithms, rigid body dynamics control, and virtual reality interactive mapping, thereby transforming the traditional abstract physical model into an immersive experimental experience environment.

[0077] In terms of physics environment construction, the system does not use the engine's default global constant gravity, but instead implements a radial gravitational field centered on the planet through scripts. During development, a Transform representing the planet's core is set as the center of gravity in the scene, and all the rigid bodies of the small spheres involved in the motion are uniformly managed in the GravityField script. The program continuously performs gravity calculations in the FixedUpdate physics update function. By obtaining the difference vector between the current position of the small sphere and the position of the planet's center, the direction of the force is obtained using vector normalization. At the same time, the spatial distance between the two is obtained through distance calculation, and the magnitude of gravity is calculated based on the inverse square law.

[0078]

[0079] In its implementation, the code calculates the distance by calling `Vector3.Distance`, obtains the direction vector using `(planetCenter.position - ball.position).normalized`, and then calculates the final force by combining this with preset gravitational constants and mass parameters. The system then applies this force to the rigid ball using the `Rigidbody.AddForce` method, causing it to move in three-dimensional space in accordance with physical laws. Because this gravitational force is dynamically updated in each frame, the ball automatically experiences acceleration changes at different positions, naturally exhibiting various typical physical phenomena such as free fall, parabolic motion, and orbital motion.

[0080] In terms of interactive control, the system abstracts the virtual reality controller as a launching device and dynamically determines the launching direction by reading its spatial attitude information. During development, within the script CannonController, the controller's Transform.forward is used as the launching direction vector, and combined with the user-defined initial velocity parameters to generate a complete velocity vector.

[0081] When the user presses the Trigger button on the controller, the program first generates a small ball object in front of the controller's pointing direction using the Instantiate method, and adds a Rigidbody component to this object to participate in physics calculations. The system then directly assigns a value to the rigidbody's velocity property, using the vector obtained by multiplying the launch direction by the velocity magnitude as the initial velocity, giving the ball a motion state the instant it is generated. This method avoids the latency issues caused by applying force frame by frame, achieving a more precise and rapid launch effect and ensuring the predictability of the motion trajectory.

[0082] To support the simulation and verification of various physical phenomena, the system incorporates a parameter adjustment mechanism in its design, enabling users to change experimental conditions in real time. In implementation, the system exposes two key variables—initial velocity and gravitational intensity—to the user via a HUD, allowing for real-time adjustments on the control panel.

[0083] During program execution, these parameters are continuously read and applied to the launch logic and gravity calculations. For example, the initial velocity is calculated using the current velocity parameters during launch, while the overall force intensity is changed by adjusting the gravity coefficient in gravity calculations. Because the parameters can be dynamically modified during runtime, users can observe motion changes under different parameter combinations without reloading the scene, thus achieving a transition from qualitative observation to quantitative analysis.

[0084] For visualizing the motion process, the system uses the Trail Renderer component to draw the ball's movement path in real time. In the specific implementation, each launched ball object is automatically attached to a trajectory rendering component when it is generated, and its time length, width, and material properties are set to ensure the continuity and clarity of the trajectory display.

[0085] During operation, the Trail Renderer automatically records path points based on the ball's position changes and generates a trail in 3D space. In this way, the system can intuitively display complex motion patterns such as orbital paths, parabolas, and escape paths, greatly improving the readability of experimental results.

[0086] To prevent the continuous accumulation of ball objects from impacting system performance during multiple experiments, a unified object management and cleanup mechanism was designed. In implementation, the program records all launched ball instances using a list structure and centrally manages them in the script `ProjectileManager`. When the user presses the `Grip` button on the controller, the system triggers cleanup logic, iterating through all ball objects in the current list and calling the `Destroy` method to destroy them one by one, while simultaneously clearing the list data. This process is completed within one frame, quickly restoring the initial experimental environment and allowing the user to continuously conduct multiple sets of experiments for comparison. This mechanism not only improves system efficiency but also enhances the smoothness of the interactive experience.

[0087] To overcome the limitations of traditional fixed viewing angles, the system implements a dual movement mechanism based on real-world movement and a virtual reality gamepad touchpad, along with free-flight control functionality. In addition to the real-world movement logic, the system reads the input direction from the touchpad, converts it into a movement vector in three-dimensional space, and applies it to the player's XR Rig object to achieve touchpad movement.

[0088] The program continuously receives touchpad input in the Update function and uses the Transform.Translate method to move the character in space, allowing users to gradually ascend from the ground to higher altitudes and even enter a space-based perspective. During movement, the system keeps the camera orientation synchronized with the headset, ensuring a natural visual experience. This feature allows users to move freely around the planet, closely tracking its trajectory or observing it from a distance, thus gaining a more comprehensive understanding of its movement patterns.

[0089] The Newton's cannon experiment, based on the inverse square law, uses a trajectory simulation method that is achieved through the following steps:

[0090] First, a custom gravitational field is constructed. The system establishes a gravitational field model centered on a single planet, and its core algorithm strictly follows the inverse square law of gravity, F=G. / Users can adjust the gravitational constant G or planetary mass in real time via the controller UI.

[0091] Then, the launch vector is defined as follows: the system takes the top of the launch tower as the origin, the direction of the user's controller is defined as the direction vector of the launch velocity, and the duration of the trigger button press or the linear mapping value is defined as the initial velocity. The size of the scalar.

[0092] Then, real-time trajectory prediction and tracking are performed: after the object is launched, the system uses the TrailRenderer path tracing algorithm to draw the object's trajectory in real time. If Once it reaches the first cosmic velocity, the system will calculate its closed orbital parameters to maintain the object's rotation around the planet.

[0093] To overcome the limitations of a fixed viewpoint, the system activates a "backpack jet" mode via the joystick, allowing users to fly freely in three-dimensional space. Users can observe the motion path of objects under gravitational fields from all angles, including satellite views, tower top views, and deep space views.

[0094] Through the coordinated implementation of the aforementioned functional modules, the system can stably reproduce various typical physical phenomena from Newton's cannon thought experiment in a virtual environment. Initially, at a low speed, the ball rapidly falls back to the planet's surface under the influence of gravity. As the speed gradually increases, its trajectory gradually transitions from a parabola to an orbit. When the speed reaches a critical value, the ball can form a stable closed orbit. When the speed increases further, the ball completely escapes the gravitational pull and enters an escape state.

[0095] Test case

[0096] To verify the effectiveness of the system of this invention, and to compare it with traditional learning methods, this test case divided the 23 recruited participants into two groups: 12 participants used the VR system for learning, and 11 participants read printed materials for learning. The test process consisted of three core stages: pre-test, VR learning intervention or printed material learning intervention, and post-test and questionnaire, as follows: Before VR learning, all participants completed a customized 10-question multiple-choice physics knowledge test corresponding to the two learning modules. Scores and answering times were recorded to establish a baseline of pre-intervention knowledge level and answering speed. Subsequently, the VR group participants underwent a 10-minute VR device operation and basic interaction warm-up training, which was not included in the learning time. After becoming familiar with the system, they experienced the two designated learning modules in turn, each module lasting approximately 12 minutes. Throughout the process, they followed the system guidance to operate virtual experiments, adjust parameters, and observe physical phenomena. After completing the task, they could explore freely. The total pure VR learning time was approximately 25 minutes. For the pre-test, participants spent 15 minutes learning from the provided Wikipedia materials. After the pre-test, both groups immediately underwent a post-test with the same question types, number of questions, scores, and assessment modules, but with questions randomly selected from a question bank of equal difficulty to avoid memory interference. Scores and response times were recorded in both tests. The learning improvement effect was analyzed by comparing the pre-test and post-test data in terms of accuracy and fluency. After the post-test, participants were required to complete three standardized scales in sequence: NASA-TLX (Assess Cognitive Load) (completed by both groups), IPQ (Assess Immersion in Virtual Environment) (completed by the VR group only), and SUS (Assess VR System Usability) (completed by the VR group only) to collect subjective experience data. The overall intervention effect of VR physics learning was comprehensively evaluated by comparing the objective pre-test and post-test data with the subjective questionnaire results.

[0097] The above test yielded the following results: Figure 2 The scores and time taken by participants in the pre-test and post-test, as shown, reflect their proficiency. Figure 2 Data analysis reveals that VR learning has a significant advantage in enhancing physical intuition. Although the VR group and the traditional group were limited by the 50-point total score ceiling in the post-test, and did not show a statistically significant difference in accuracy (VR group improved by 7.08 points, while traditional group improved by 2.27 points), the VR group demonstrated a strong advantage in answering efficiency, reducing its average time in the post-test by 65.5 seconds compared to the pre-test (p < 0.001), while the reduction in time for the traditional group was not significant. Particularly in the Newton's Cannon module, which requires spatial imagination, the VR group's score improvement far exceeded that of the traditional group, demonstrating the unique value of immersive interaction in understanding complex physical trajectories.

[0098] Regarding cognitive load, the experimental results revealed that VR teaching can significantly reduce students' psychological stress and alleviate cognitive burden. Although VR operation involves head-mounted display use and physical interaction, leading to a trend of higher physical needs scores compared to the traditional group, the VR group scored 5.08 on overall cognitive load, significantly lower than the traditional learning group's 7.99 (p = 0.013, d = -1.13). In specific dimensions, the VR group showed significant and substantial decreases in psychological needs (6.79 vs 12.00, p = 0.008), time needs (3.58 vs 7.36, p = .020), and frustration (2.71 vs 8.18, p = 0.003). This indicates that the system of this invention, through its intuitive interactive design, enables students to complete complex physics experiment learning processes in a more relaxed and emotionally positive state.

[0099] User experience evaluations further confirmed the system's successful design, with participants demonstrating a high level of immersion and acceptance. In the IPQ Presence Questionnaire, all sub-dimensions returned positive values, with general presence and spatial presence scoring the highest, indicating that students genuinely felt immersed in the virtual teaching environment. Simultaneously, the system achieved an average score of 80.21 on the SUS Usability Scale, rated as "Excellent," far exceeding the industry benchmark.

[0100] In summary, after using the system of this invention, subjects experienced a significant improvement in physical intuition and fluency of thought while reducing their task load. The system's immersion and usability also received positive feedback. Therefore, this invention not only overcomes the limitations of traditional physics experiments in terms of time and space, equipment resources, and safety, but also enhances the immersion, interactivity, and fun of the learning process, improving the practical effectiveness of physics experiment teaching and popular science experiences.

[0101] In summary, this invention overcomes the limitations of a single visual dimension, constructing a multimodal immersive feedback matrix that integrates visual and tactile feedback. By calling the Haptic Feedback API of the interactive controller's linear motor interface, the physical force state in the virtual scene is transformed into a vibration pulse sequence. Simultaneously, for complex movements, the underlying Trail Renderer component performs real-time rendering of the 3D path, and in conjunction with TextMeshPro, a dynamic HUD panel is constructed, projecting instantaneous velocity, force components, and other underlying data into the user's field of vision in real time, completing a closed loop from "sensory immersion" to "quantitative cognition." By introducing a custom physical model and virtual reality interaction methods, this invention makes abstract theoretical processes operable and observable. Furthermore, trajectory visualization and free-viewpoint observation enhance the expressive power of experimental results, significantly improving teaching effectiveness and user experience while ensuring physical accuracy.

[0102] It should be noted that the above content merely illustrates the technical concept of the present invention and should not be construed as limiting the scope of protection of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, various improvements and modifications can be made without departing from the principle of the present invention, and all such improvements and modifications fall within the scope of protection of the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. A physical phenomenon experience learning system based on immersive virtual reality technology, characterized in that: It includes a hardware perception layer, a software platform layer, a core logic layer, and a functional module layer. The hardware perception layer includes at least a virtual reality head-mounted display device, a spatial positioning base station, and an interactive controller; the interactive controller has a six-degree-of-freedom tracking function and performs command interaction in conjunction with the display of the virtual reality head-mounted display device; the spatial positioning base station is used to acquire the user's pose data in three-dimensional space; The software platform layer: loaded within the system, it constructs a three-dimensional virtual scene and physical simulation environment based on a virtual reality engine and a physics dynamics engine; The core logic layer includes a physical property dynamic intervention module, a controller interaction control protocol module, and a data acquisition and visualization module. The data acquisition and visualization module is used to display the pose data and interaction commands acquired by the hardware perception layer at the software platform level. The physical property dynamic intervention module intercepts and modifies the material property parameters in the physics engine to perform real-time scene switching and dynamic operation in the virtual environment. The functional module layer contains multiple different scene modules and interacts with the core logic layer. It enters the corresponding scene module by dynamically intervening in the material attribute parameters set in the physical attribute module. The system, in the corresponding scenario, enables dynamic commands in the scenario through a virtual reality head-mounted display device and an interactive controller, and achieves interaction within the scenario by adjusting the material property parameters in the physics and dynamics engine.

2. The physical phenomenon experience learning system based on immersive virtual reality technology as described in claim 1, characterized in that: The functional module layer includes at least the Galileo inclined plane experiment module, the Galileo free fall experiment module, the Foucault pendulum experiment module, and the Newton cannon experiment module; The Galileo inclined plane experiment module: By dynamically rewriting the physical material property parameters of the virtual ball and the inclined plane, setting the friction parameter to 0, and cooperating with the inclined plane angle rotation controlled by the interactive handle, the law of uniform linear motion is verified. The Galileo free fall experiment module: a model of the Leaning Tower of Pisa is reproduced on a scale and small balls of different materials are created. By switching between "zero gravity" mode and "original gravity" mode, and recording and displaying the vt image of the small balls in real time, the law of free fall is verified. The Foucault pendulum experiment module includes a global latitude-Coriolis force mapping model. Based on the geographical latitude selected by the user on the virtual world map, it automatically calculates the corresponding angular velocity and drives the virtual pendulum to generate precession motion, verifying the law of Coriolis force variation with latitude. The Newton's Cannon Experiment Module allows users to adjust the mass of a virtual celestial body and the initial velocity scalar of a projectile using an interactive handle, and simulate satellite motion to verify the inverse square law.

3. The physical phenomenon experience learning system based on immersive virtual reality technology as described in claim 2, characterized in that: In the Galileo inclined plane experiment module, an inclined plane model consisting of a release area and a rolling area is generated on the scene page. The height of the inclined plane can be adjusted by the interactive handle. When the interactive handle indicates that the ball is released, the system calculates the gravitational components of the ball at different inclination angles in real time. When the material property parameters in the physics engine are intercepted and modified, and the friction coefficient between the ball and the inclined plane and the air resistance parameters are set to 0, the system calculates the motion vector of the ball on the inclined plane in real time through the following state transition equation: ； Where p is displacement and v is instantaneous velocity. The slope angle is adjusted in real time via the handle, and g is the system's preset gravitational acceleration; When the ball enters the horizontal area =0, acceleration term returns to zero, system forcibly maintains [acceleration term] This allows for the verification of uniform linear motion, thus validating the law that "an object will maintain uniform linear motion when it is not subjected to any force on a horizontal surface." 4. The renewable energy data clustering method based on optical quantum computers as described in claim 2, characterized in that: In the Galileo free fall experiment module, a scaled-down model of the Leaning Tower of Pisa is generated on the scene page. By using an interactive handle, small balls of different materials and weights are dropped from the Leaning Tower of Pisa model. A data display board is created to track and record the real-time velocity of the balls. The velocity values ​​are then presented at a fixed sampling frequency, forming a vt image displayed on the display board to verify the law of free fall.

5. The physical phenomenon experience learning system based on immersive virtual reality technology as described in claim 2, characterized in that: In the Foucault pendulum experiment module, a world map model is displayed on the scene page. The user selects any location on the map using the ray point of the interactive handle. The system calculates the corresponding geographical latitude ϕ based on the coordinates of the clicked point and calculates the pre-advance angular velocity of the Foucault pendulum at the current latitude in real time according to the formula ω=Ωsinϕ, where Ω is the Earth's rotation angular velocity. The precession of the pendulum's rotation plane is generated based on the pre-advance angular velocity, and the pendulum trajectory is plotted in real time on the rotating chassis; the system establishes the relationship between the handle ray click point (x, y) and the geographic latitude. Linear mapping function: The system constructs a time-varying rotation matrix. : ； Users can place multiple Foucault pendulums at different latitudes in the Foucault pendulum experiment module using the interactive handle, and verify the physical law of the Coriolis force changing with latitude through comparative observation.

6. The physical phenomenon experience learning system based on immersive virtual reality technology as described in claim 2, characterized in that: In the Newton's Cannon Experiment module, a gravitational field model centered on a single planet is established on the scene page, strictly following the inverse square law of gravity F=G. / Users can adjust the gravitational constant G or planetary mass in real time using an interactive handle; With the top of the launch tower as the origin, the direction of the user's control handle is defined as the direction vector of the launch velocity, and the duration of the control handle being pressed or the linear mapping value is defined as the initial velocity. The scalar size is used to draw the object's trajectory in real time after it is launched, using a path tracing algorithm. Once the object reaches the first cosmic velocity, its closed orbital parameters will be calculated to maintain its rotation around the planet. By observing the object's path of motion under the gravitational field, the inverse square law will be verified.

7. The physical phenomenon experience learning system based on immersive virtual reality technology as described in any one of claims 3-6, characterized in that: The controller interaction control protocol module executes the following standardized mapping protocol: A six-degree-of-freedom grasping mechanism is achieved by utilizing the spatial coordinates of the controller and the detection of collisions with virtual objects; Continuous adjustment of physical variables is achieved by utilizing the controller's touchpad or ray detection.

8. The physical phenomenon experience learning system based on immersive virtual reality technology as described in claim 2, characterized in that: The data acquisition and visualization module is used to extract the motion vector, coordinates and energy parameters of the experimental object in real time, and convert them into a floating UI interface in virtual space or a real-time VT velocity-time curve image.

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