Virtual Reality In Support Of Nuclear Disarmament: Interactivity, Curveballs, And Gameplay

We have developed the prototype of an extensive multiplayer virtual environment developed in Unreal (UE4.25) that seeks to enable international collaborations in the area of nuclear arms control and disarmament. The virtual world includes several key facilities and areas relevant for nuclear verification, including a naval base with a docked submarine, a mobile missile base, a warhead dismantlement facility, a disposition facility, and a number of storage bunkers available at various sites of the environment. The primary goal of the project has been to make possible effective interactions between remote participants of a virtual inspection exercise in this environment. Users can use several types of instruments and perform activities relevant to the inspection scenario with an emphasis on warhead inspections. We have been particularly interested in incorporating gameplay elements, including non-compliance scenarios and unexpected events (“curveballs”) to create an illusion of spontaneity for the participants, which enables us to examine the effects of these events on the overall robustness of the approaches considered.