Vikram Apilla: Nuclear and Radiochemistry Virtual Lab Demo

The demonstration showcases the results of Vikram Apilla's master thesis:

The interest of younger generations is dwindling in science fields such as nuclear and radiochemistry. The A-CINCH consortium is creating all-inclusive digital tools for nuclear and radiochemistry studies to stop the wane of interest, raise awareness, and reach a wider audience. In order to attract students, these tools also include a virtual lab with various hands-on training experiments. One of these experiments is a decontamination procedure that releases materials from superficial contamination.

In this video, a virtual decontamination method based on the A-PHADEC process is presented. The experiment will be a part of a virtual lab setup and is developed for desktop (WebGL) and VR systems. In addition, a number of lab interactions are covered, including using pipettes and tweezers. Additionally, various comparisons are made between these two systems’ accessibility, development effort, interactions, and more.

The developed applications were evaluated with a user study among 15 participants divided into desktop and VR groups. The user study assessed factors of knowledge gain, presence, usability, and cybersickness. The results indicate that the VR group, besides cybersickness, performed better in all factors compared to the desktop group. In addition, an informal expert interview was conducted, and it provided insights on the benefits and drawbacks of the developed applications, along with their potential in the future. Furthermore, based on a general comparison between the desktop and VR, it was revealed that both systems have their own benefits and are promising tools for decontamination experiment training.