Interactive 3D Visualisations of the Mont Terri Underground Research Laboratory

Abstract

This thesis demonstrates how interactive 3D visualisations of underground research laboratories (URL) can support the diverse stakeholders of research on the final disposal of radioactive waste. The work conducted in underground research laboratories plays an invaluable role in the research and development of safe solutions for the final disposal of radioactive waste. The thesis presents three interactive 3D visualisation systems for the Mont Terri URL. The first project focuses on domain experts, who encounter numerous challenges when attempting to visualise the research data generated in URLs. Three main issues were identified and tackled by developing a tailored interactive visualisation system, called VEIS: Firstly, the data obtained at the test site is often available only to researchers directly involved in the specific experiment. Secondly, the visualisation techniques typically employed by domain scientists often lack the larger spatial context. Thirdly, accessing and exploring the data requires prior technical knowledge. The VEIS digitally replicates the Mont Terri laboratory and integrates highly heterogeneous data (e.g. simulation results and observation data) from several sources. The 4D visualisation approach focuses on three exemplary experiments. It facilitates the visual exploration of research data sets and promotes exchange among research groups. In the second project, the focus was on intermediates, i.e. stakeholders with less prior knowledge than domain experts. The VEIS was employed as a foundation for the development of a virtual field trip on the subject of radioactive waste management research for the purpose of university education. For this purpose, we enhanced the existing system with additional background information, illustrations, tasks, tests, and an improved user interface. To put the tour's content into context, a conventional introductory presentation on the final disposal of radioactive waste was added. We then evaluated the virtual field trip in a user study with 22 participants. It proved a good perceived usability of the virtual tour and the virtual field trip's ability to transfer knowledge. These results support the findings of previous work that suggest a benefit of employing virtual field trips in geoscientific university courses. The third project focuses on science communication and combines the concepts of serious games and virtual field trips for this purpose. The design, implementation, and evaluation of VR-EX, an immersive virtual reality application that focuses on the electrical resistivity tomography measurements within the CD-A experiment are described in detail. VR-EX enables users to actively re-enact the measurements from planning to execution to analysis of the results, and in this way implements an active and playful learning approach. VR-EX presents the highly relevant work conducted in underground research laboratories to society in an active and appealing way, which is crucial to increase understanding of scientific processes and boost interest. A user study with 35 participants proves the overall good quality of the application and its high effectiveness in terms of knowledge transfer. The high levels of engagement, joy, and immersion reported by the users indicate the potential benefits of employing immersive virtual reality for engaging and effective science communication