Radioactive waste is all material resulting from human activity that contains elements that emit radiation that can generate risks to health and the environment. In this sense, they are very toxic also for those who perform the storage of radioactive waste in nuclear facilities. On the other hand, the virtual reality (VR) as been destined to the most diverse purposes, like simulations for educational systems, for military urposes as for diverse training. VRcan be considered as the junction of three basic principles: immersion, interaction and involvement. Bases on these principles of VR, this work aimed to develop a simulator of a repository of nuclear tailings, for mobile computing, whose interaction interface will be through the Samsung Gear VR helmet. The simulator of the nuclear waste repository was developed in the unity 3D tool and the elements that make up the scenario in the 3D MAX program. In this work we tried to put virtual reality under scrutiny in conjunction with Gear VR, to help in the sensation of immersion, as well as, the possibility of interaction with joysticks. The purpose was to provide greater insight into the operating environment

Mól, Antônio Carlos Abreu

Santo, André dos

Santos, Julio dos

Carpe dIEN

2017 International Nuclear Atlantic Conference - INAC 2017 
Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil, October 22-27, 2017 
ASSOCIAÇÃO BRASILEIRA DE ENERGIA NUCLEAR – ABEN 
  
 
 
THE USE OF THE VIRTUAL REALITY HELMET SAMSUNG GEAR 
VR AS INTERACTION INTERFACE OF A RADIOACTIVE WASTE 
REPOSITORY SIMULATOR  
 
Julio A. dos Santos
1,2
, Antônio C. de A. Mól
1,2
 and André C. Do E. Santo
1,2
 
 
1
 Instituto de Engenharia Nuclear (IEN / CNEN - RJ) 
Rua Hélio de Almeida 75 
21941-906 Rio de Janeiro, RJ 
julio_andrade11@hotmail.com 
 
 
2
 Centro Universitário Carioca - UniCarioca 
Avenida Paulo de Frontin 568 
20261-243 Rio de Janeiro, RJ 
 
 
ABSTRACT 
 
Radioactive waste is all material resulting from human activity that contains elements that emit radiation that 
can generate risks to health and the environment. In this sense, they are very toxic also for those who perform 
the storage of radioactive waste in nuclear facilities. On the other hand, the virtual reality (VR) has been 
destined to the most diverse purposes, like simulations for educational systems, for military purposes as for 
diverse training. VR can be considered as the junction of three basic principles: immersion, interaction and 
involvement. Bases on these principles of VR, this work aimed to develop a simulator of a repository of nuclear 
tailings, for mobile computing, whose interaction interface will be through the Samsung Gear VR helmet. The 
simulator of the nuclear waste repository was developed in the unity 3D tool and the elements that make up the 
scenario in the 3D MAX program. In this work we tried to put virtual reality under scrutiny in conjunction with 
Gear VR, to help in the sensation of immersion, as well as, the possibility of interaction with joysticks. The 
purpose was to provide greater insight into the operating environment.   
 
 
1. INTRODUCTION 
 
Radioactive waste is produced in the generation of nuclear energy and in the use of 
radioactive materials by industry, research and medicine. However, the management and safe 
operation of this radioactive waste is important, because it can cause serious risks to human 
health and the environment [5]. 
 
The Repositório para Rejeitos radioativos de Baixo e Médio Níveis de Radiação (RBMN) is 
one of CNEN's priority projects, which is associated with the final deposition of radioactive 
waste generated in the national territory. In addition, the RBMN is the Brazilian solution for 
waste tailings generated in nuclear power generation in Brazil. The RBMN includes waste 
from the operation of nuclear power plants, nuclear fuel cycle facilities and the use of 
radionuclides in medicine, industry and R&D activities. With this, the Instituto de Engenharia 
Nuclear (IEN) has been preparing, on a personal and laboratory level, to keep the scientific 
and technological in constant development worldwide. Especially in virtual reality 
laboratories, which in turn is part of the master's degree in engineering IEN reactors, it is 
preparing to help meet both at the level of personnel and laboratory, the demands related to 
training operations in nuclear and radioactive facilities.  
 INAC 2017, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil. 
 
In the nuclear area, the virtual reality has been used in the simulation of operations in 
installations with radiation levels above natural standards [1, 2], since virtual environments 
help in the training of operational procedures without the need to expose users to the rates of 
ionizing radiation. 
 
The development of virtual reality applications used to be exclusive to research institutions or 
companies that had computers with more processing speed, as well as being developed 
applications only for desktop platform. A few years ago, this situation changed with the 
advancement of technology, thus leaving mobile phones able to support virtual reality in 
conjunction with other tools. 
 
The use of virtual reality for simulations and training has proven to be efficient and useful 
through the various works developed by IEN and its collaborators. In this way, it is intended, 
with this work, to develop the virtual reality environment of the RBMN for training and 
evaluation of the repository of radioactive waste using the Samsung Gear VR with a Samsung 
mobile phone. For the purpose of insert the user in a virtual world for mobile, thus helping in 
the training of the operations performed in the repository environment, as the wrong handling 
can lead to radiation leakage and cause harm to the operator, people and the environment. 
Therefore, training in conjunction with VR is very important because it generates an 
interaction with the three-dimensional environment in a realistic and real-time way. The 
virtual reality brings a greater immersion to the users, making them really feel in a real 
environment and mobile virtual reality provides greater portability. 
 
 
2. METHODOLOGY 
 
The virtual model of the radioactive waste repository was developed using the programs: 
Autodesk 3Ds Max and Unity 3D. The Unity 3D software was responsible for the modeling 
of virtual environment, where simulations will occur, and the 3Ds Max for the three-
dimensional modeling of existing buildings. It is important to note the presence of the 
Samsung Gear VR, which gave more realism to the created virtual environment bringing 
more immersion to the user, and finally, the use of a joystick to provide the interaction with 
the environment. 
 
2.1. Autodesk 3Ds Max 
 
Autodesk 3Ds Max is a software for modeling that aims to be a complete solution for 3D 
modeling, texture and animations [4], considering the needs of the present work and of 
several professionals of computer graphics in the development of diverse applications, like 
games, cinema, and animations, among others. In addition, 3Ds Max provides the user with a 
user-friendly and configurable interface, adaptable as each professional need (Fig. 1). 
 
3Ds Max was used to model in three dimensions the internal and external structures of the 
repository, following in detail their measurements. 
 INAC 2017, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil. 
 
 
 
Figure 1: Autodesk 3Ds Max. 
 
2.2. Unity 3D 
 
Unity 3D is a powerful gaming development engine, which currently supports several 
platforms, titled IOS, Android, Windows PC, Linux, PlayStation 4, among others. It has been 
integrated support for virtual reality applications, and supports two different programming 
languages: C# and JavaScript [9]. In addition of this, due to the high quality of its games, 
coupled with a faster learning curve, this tool was chosen to fulfill the purpose of this work. 
 
By default, Unity 3D incorporates multiple software that assists in the development of 3D 
content, like libraries intended for physical insertion to environment, lighting and interactive 
audio. Thus, the tool allows the centralization of functions required in creating games, 
making the programmer to develop applications without concern for compatibility between 
different systems, in a simple, integrated and transparent manner. Unity 3D allows the import 
of models generated in the 3Ds Max software. 
 
With the Unity 3D, the external environment of the RBMN was modeled, and also inserting 
vegetation to the ambient light. Allowing so, that the virtual environment resemble the real 
world (Fig. 2). 
 
  
 
 
 INAC 2017, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil. 
 
 
 
Figure 2:  Interface of the radioactive waste repository simulator in Unity 3D. 
 
2.3. Samsung Gear VR 
 
The Gear VR is a virtual reality equipment for electronic games developed by Samsung, 
which is compatible with some mobile devices, such as Samsung Galaxy S7 edge, Galaxy S7, 
5 Galaxy Note, Galaxy S6, Galaxy S6 and Galaxy S6 edge + edge. It is equipment that uses 
your mobile device to take 3D applications to the next level. It projects three-dimensional 
images on an LCD screen with the assistance of the accelerometer and gyroscope recognizes 
the user’s head movements provided by the mobile device. The Gear VR, Fig. 3, has a focus 
adjustment wheel, which adjusts the comfort of the view, back buttons, home, volume and a 
touchpad, which are used to make all interaction with the device, such as the exchange of 
applications, without the need to remove the device from the helmet. In addition to having a 
proximity sensor that detects whether or not the user is wearing the helmet, which aims to 
save battery of the mobile device. What's more, the Samsung Gear VR does not need to be 
charged as it makes use of the smartphone battery, thus generating better portability [8]. 
 
By using this helmet with the Samsung mobile device, it was possible to reproduce a 
stereoscopic virtual environment with a greater degree of realism. When the user rotates the 
head, in any direction, makes it possible to observe details of the scenario, giving the feeling 
of immersion into the virtual world of the RBMN. 
 
 
 INAC 2017, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil. 
 
 
 
Figure 3:  Gear VR. 
 
2.4. Unity Integration With Gear VR 
 
First, it is necessary to make the exchange from desktop platform to Android, for this it is 
indispensable to have Android SDK (Software Development Kit) and JDK (Java 
Development Kit) installed [3]. The integration of Gear VR with Unity 3D is done in Player 
Settings, on the Android system tab, by selecting a checkbox with the name "Virtual Reality 
Supported" (Fig. 4), however, it is necessary to download a file to test the application, the 
"Oculus Signature File" (OSIG) so that it is possible to perform the individual authentication 
of each device [7]. 
 
 
 
 
Figure 4:  Unity 3D. 
 
 
The software that was previously developed as desktop application was modified for mobile 
devices, which results in loss of speed, graphics processing and performance, since it is 
necessary to a virtual reality application, two cameras, one for the left eye and one for the 
right eye, therefore, a higher processing load is required. The optimization process is 
extremely important because a mobile platform does not have the same processing power as a 
 INAC 2017, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil. 
 
computer. The same can be achieved by creating objects with fewer polygons, removing 
unnecessary objects from the scene and adjusting the graphic quality of the virtual elements. 
 
In order to interact with the virtual environment of the repository was used the C# 
programming language, allowing the user to move around the environment in a normal or 
faster way, simulating a person running by using a joystick (Fig. 5), which is connected to the 
mobile device through Bluetooth. 
 
 
 
 
Figure 5:  Joystick. 
 
 
3. RESULTS 
 
The preliminary results obtained indicated that the radioactive waste repository simulator 
(Fig. 6), applied to the virtual reality scenario using the Gear VR, behaved in a very 
satisfactory manner, however, further adjustments will be made for a better performance and 
comfort for the user. In addition, the stereoscopic visualization provided by the VR makes the 
user perceive the depth of the objects, thus facilitating their comprehension, since Mendes 
pointed in his work: “a stereo camera works in a way analogous to the human vision system, 
two horizontally displaced lenses capture two similar images. This pair of images has a small 
displacement between relative positions of local parts of one image of the scene relative to 
another, depending on the distance that these local components are from the camera. By 
knowing the difference of the position of a point between one image and another it is possible 
to gauge its relative depth. This is how the human vision gives us a sense of depth” [6]. 
Finally, the use of the Bluetooth joystick was responsible for the movement of the avatar. 
 
 
 INAC 2017, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil. 
 
 
 
Figure 6:  Simulator. 
 
In the image below you can see the use of the RBMN simulator and the integration of the 
Samsung Gear VR with mobile phone using the joystick to move in the virtual environment 
(Fig. 7). 
 
 
 
Figure 7:  Simulator using the Samsung Gear VR technology together with a Samsung 
Galaxy S6 phone and the wireless joystick. 
 
 
4. CONCLUSIONS 
 
Unity 3D proved to be a great tool, which uses resources to facilitate the development of the 
radioactive waste repository simulator, in a simple and fast way. The Samsung Gear VR has 
added greater portability. In addition, it enabled the interaction with the wireless joystick that 
generates a greater comfort, portability and convenience for the user. It is expected that the 
radioactive waste repository simulator; using the Samsung Gear VR technology can provide 
to the final user a better feeling of immersion and attractiveness. The activity showed that it is 
possible to migrate from a desktop environment to a mobile, but it must be optimized or 
remodeled with fewer polygons. 
 
This work showed the feasibility of using virtual reality to interact with virtual environments. 
This new technology presents the ability of these new equipment to reproduce a virtual world 
of a real environment, which can be used for safety training, virtual touring at a nuclear 
 INAC 2017, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil. 
 
facility, operations carried out at RBMN and others. With the Samsung Gear VR and the 
joystick, this form of interaction allows the agent the possibility of interacting with the virtual 
environment without using a mouse or keyboard, being totally immersed and devoid of wires. 
In addition, this technology serves to assist in the training of more specific tasks, minimizing 
the risks and cost. 
 
 
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 
 
This research was sponsored by Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível 
Superior – CAPES and Conselho Nacional de desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico - 
CNPq. Our thanks also to the Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro - 
FAPERJ and Comissão Nacional de Energia Nuclear - CNEN, that, through the Instituto de 
Engenharia Nuclear - IEN, has provided all necessary resources to the development of this 
work. 
 
 
REFERENCES 
 
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radiation through artificial intelligence and virtual reality”. International Nuclear Atlantic 
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2. Freitas,V.; Mol, A.C.A., Shirru,R, “Virtual reality for operational procedures in 
radioactive waste deposits”. Progress in Nuclear Energy, v.71, p.225-231, (2014). 
3. “Getting started with Android development,” https://docs.unity3d.com/Manual/android-
GettingStarted.html (2017). 
4. HARPER, J.; Mastering Autodesk 3ds Max 2013, Sybex, Camp Hill, United States of 
America (2012).  
5. “INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY, Near surface disposal of radioactive 
waste, Safety Standars Series No. WS-R-1, IAEA, Vienna,” http://www-
pub.iaea.org/MTCD/publications/PDF/P073_scr.pdf (1999). 
6. MENDES, C. C. T. , “NAVEGAÇÃO DE ROBÔS MÓVEIS UTILIZANDO VISÃO 
ESTÉREO,” http://www.teses.usp.br/teses/disponiveis/55/55134/tde-18062012-
162436/pt-br.php (2012). 
7. “Oculus Unity Guide,” https://developer3.oculus.com/documentation/game-
engines/latest/concepts/book-unity/ (2017). 
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9. “Unity User Manual,” 
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The use of the virtual reality Helmet Samsung Gear vr as interaction interface of a radioactive waste repository simulator

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The use of the virtual reality Helmet Samsung Gear vr as interaction interface of a radioactive waste repository simulator

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