2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Circuit analysis courses in electrical and computer engineering (ECE) majors are abstract heavy and lack the connection to real-world examples--actual-product circuits, for example. Laboratory exercises can provide students with hands-on experiences, however, they often take place in a subsequent semester and/or focus mostly on stripped down circuits or the fundamental concepts covered in the textbooks. Furthermore, it can be difficult for undergraduate students learning the fundamental concepts to visualize the effects of changes in a circuit. Many illustrations of Ohm’s law have been statically depicted to draw a picture in the student’s mind, however, it is still up to the student to scale this illustration dynamically based on the circuit components and configuration.

In our paper we present Co-STARS a Community of Students Through Augmented Reality Systems, a framework that aims to bridge the abstract to real, production-like circuits, increase student involvement in the learning process, and dynamically depict circuit simulation in real time. The framework uses augmented reality (AR) headset; an application that drives the detection, simulation, and illustration of the circuit analysis concepts; a circuit simulator; and a database of tutorials for students. The design of the application and composition of the tutorials are completed by students, increasing the student involvement in the learning experience. The students who are enrolled in the circuit analysis class can use the framework to understand abstract concepts by examining real-world, physical circuits, visually inspect alternative scenarios using the dynamic simulation, learn from peers’ experiences—the tutorials recorded by prior students, and experience with cutting-edge AR technologies. The implementation of the framework involved graduate and undergraduate students, the tutorial amounted to over 50 videos recorded, and the integration of the simulator received positive feedback from the students.