Once Zhuang Zhou dreamed he was a butterfly, a butterfly flitting and fluttering around, happy with himself and doing as he pleased. He didn’t know he was Zhuang Zhou. Suddenly he woke up, and there he was, solid and unmistakable Zhuang Zhou. But he didn’t know if he were Zhuang Zhou who had dreamed he was a butterfly or a butterfly dreaming he was Zhuang Zhou”.
wrote Master Zhuang in the 4th century BCE.
More than two millennia later, a renowned physicist from the University of Portsmouth named Melvin Vopson formulated the second law of infodynamics: that every system tends toward minimal information content and that information is equivalent to energy, just as energy is equivalent to matter. This thesis bolstered an idea philosophers have speculated on since that ancient Taoist’s famous butterfly story: reality could be a simulation.
This brings us to immersive realities—environments recreated so persistently that they are experienced similarly to real ones. Moreover, these realities, beyond simulating future scenarios, provide tools to enhance and expand human capabilities in the physical world.
At ACCIONA, we believe innovation should serve our goal of leaving a positive impact wherever we operate. Every technology must address a real need. The future is not just to be predicted but also to be created. That’s why we analyze the utility of each technology, whether digital twins or immersive realities, and consider how they can contribute to the efficiency and sustainability of our operations.
At first glance, there seems to be nothing more distant from virtual reality than a 2,500-ton tunnel boring machine (TBM) digging deep into the earth. These are some of our most powerful tools for tackling underground infrastructure projects like Norway’s Follo Line tunnel or Sao Paulo’s Metro Line 6. Yet, we’ve found an intersection between these machines and the new frontier of reality. Join us on this virtual journey into the earth’s depths.
A diver inspects the cutting tools on the TBM’s head. They might need to replace some of the 200-kilogram cutting discs. The diver isn’t underwater but underground, in the hyperbaric chamber designed to prevent the collapse of the earth wall ahead of the machine. This is an example of the extreme conditions in which these giant steel worms operate. Inspecting the cutters is essential, but so is having a geological map indicating variations in substrates or the presence of water pockets that could flood the tunnel.
To grasp the challenge, consider that a few years ago, one of our tunnel boring machines set a world record in the Quito metro tunnel, advancing 80 meters in 24 hours. Besides drilling, these mobile factories must install several-ton concrete segments to secure the tunnel as they progress. From the outset, we understood the need for extensive data on what was happening dozens of meters underground.
Digitizing tunnel boring machines was the first step on our roadmap. By the late 2010s, ACCIONA had begun working with 200 to 300 sensors, providing insights into the machines’ performance and environmental conditions. Parameters like thrust, rotation, consumption, and potential failures were monitored.
How could we cross-reference and interpret this vast and disparate flow of big data to assist the tunnel boring machine pilots in real-time, while simultaneously optimizing their operation and maintenance? This aid was necessary not only for the pilots in the tunnel but also for those still in training. We needed a new communication interface, a way to make this data readily accessible to our experts in an agile, intuitive, and effective manner. Despite the diversity of sources, the data had to be accessible in a single environment. Immersive reality became the logical and inevitable conclusion of our evolution.
First, it’s essential to understand how a TBM works. Typically, each of these machines has a pilot who monitors the information displayed on various screens, much like a train engineer. If any issues arise, they communicate with the construction manager via a phone link. In addition to the onscreen operational data, the team relies on the geological map of the area and indications about buildings and structures on the surface. Depending on these factors, the TBM must move at varying speeds.
Imagine, however, that this TBM “engineer” had a team of experts connecting from anywhere in the world and experiencing the cabin firsthand, just as they do. Each participant would use a virtual reality headset, see what is happening, interact with the rest of the team, and point to various screens to highlight critical data. This means enhancing the pilots’ capabilities through immersive reality and potentially allowing remote control of these machines in the future. This procedure is already becoming a reality in ACCIONA’s TBMs on the São Paulo metro project. Let’s see how.
Being present in a TBM through immersive reality is now possible. We have implemented this as a case study in one of ACCIONA’s most ambitious projects: the fifteen kilometers of tunnel bored for Sao Paulo’s Metro Line 6 in Brazil.
Throughout the project, we have created a virtual environment that recreates the TBM cabin and all its screens, as well as the information from other tools. This environment now faithfully and in real-time displays all the data captured underground during the project.
Thus, our production engineers and consultants can now connect simultaneously from anywhere in the world, check the data, interact with the rest of the team, and advise the TBM pilot. In fact, it is highly likely that in one of the numerous tunneling projects we have ahead in this decade, we will begin to apply this technology as the main communication method on the site, as well as in training future pilots.
Our engineers can now connect simultaneously from anywhere in the world, check the data, interact with the rest of the team, and advise the TBM pilot.
If the technological evolution started with the digitalization of TBMs, it is likely that soon we will no longer need the pilot’s presence in the cabin, allowing for safer control from the surface. Additionally, the gradual implementation of big data will enable support analysis through artificial intelligence.
The ever-closer future suggests that these colossal machines will eventually become almost autonomous. For now, our mission is to use all the technologies at our disposal to improve the efficiency, safety, and sustainability of our operations as part of a cultural transformation process. This way, environments like immersive realities can enhance the daily lives of engineers working on a metro in São Paulo or an underground railway in Poland.