Building a Digital Twin

Sam Wald, a senior in Information Technology, has always loved to work with technology. Born and raised in Salt Lake City, Utah, Sam graduated from Beehive Science and Technology Academy, where he said the graduating class size was about 30.

Sam credits video games in part for his love for computers. “I had…not the best computers growing up,” he laughed. “I would try and tinker with them and get a little bit more power out of them so I could play better games.”

Despite his technological passion, Sam wasn’t sure exactly what to do when he started college. He considered majoring in psychology, teaching, and programming. As he was taking a career exploration class, Sam had to interview friends and family to get outsiders’ perspectives on his strengths.

Of the experience, Sam said, “Growing up, I was the guy that my mom would volunteer to send to [those who were] having problems with their Wi Fi or their TV. I would frequently help them figure out what was going on with their email or stuff like that. My mom helped me realize, ‘Hey, you've got a knack for computers. And not only that, but you have a knack for people.’”

With this revelation, Sam chose a major that fit his passion. Hovering between Computer Science (which is heavy on the coding), and Computer Engineering (which is all about the hardware), Sam decided on Information Technology as a “kind of nice, happy mix” between the two.

He also loves that IT allows him to interact with people and help them navigate technology. “It is more down in the trenches; we're resetting people's passwords because they forgot it again. We're making sure they don’t accidentally download a virus.”

An interpersonal approach to technology helped Sam later down the road when he started his Honors thesis. First, he needed to find the right project. After he talked with his Honors advisor, Dr. Derek Hansen, Sam said it was like the stars aligned: “I must have said my prayers that morning.” The project was already almost ready to go, and only needed someone that would complete the team. Sam, a user-experience guru versed in VR, fit the bill.

When Sam explains his thesis, you can tell he’s chosen the right major, because he takes something very technical and explains it with enthusiasm and simplicity. His thesis project was to help create a “digital twin”—an exact virtual replica of a nuclear processing system that will soon be implemented at Idaho National Laboratory (INL). INL wants users, operators, and researchers to use VR to become familiar with the system, called Beartooth, before they have it installed in the real world.

"Our BYU team was really focused on the user experience: what is felt, what is seen, how things interact with the user,” Sam said. To make it happen, Sam’s task was to first identify the questions that needed to be answered. For example, how should the team indicate to a user that they should select certain items in VR? What color should the text and background be?

“We had some ideas, because there's a lot of research out there,” he said. “They just weren't sure exactly how to make it work for this specific thing…. Similar to the Gospel, there are a lot of specific actions that we know to do. But there's also a lot of underlying principles that are the reason behind those actions. And [if we know those principles, they] can also help inform and answer other specific questions later on.”

An essential step in the process was gathering data from users. Although they were originally going to test the VR with BYU students, INL asked that Sam’s team not show the system to anyone outside the team and INL staff. Instead, they used the staff as test subjects for the VR experience.

In hindsight, Sam said he was glad for the switch since the employees had more expertise on their own needs. “For example, something that was really important to them was having the exact name of each of the objects…. It has to map out perfectly with the instructions, and you can't mess anything up because then dangerous stuff happens.”

After finishing his thesis project only this past week, Sam is proud to have contributed to the development of the Beartooth VR system. The project continues on, but BYU’s important part in the program has come to an end. “Funding ended January 31, so that Wednesday was 10am all the way to 8pm. Then I just got to take all that research and put it into the thesis!”

Sam’s top piece of advice for Honors students regards the role of creativity in the process of inquiry and creation. “One of my favorite things I learned from the Honors Program was that creativity still needs constraints. Which is kind of funny… [but] all these things that I’m researching wouldn't have happened if there wasn't such a specific need. So having specific achievements in mind for what you're trying to accomplish can help you to think of new and creative ways. It's good to have freedom, but it's good to have the freedom to choose your limits.”

From here, Sam will finish his thesis and graduate from school in April. The search for a perfect job is on now, and Sam is most excited to apply all the knowledge he’s gained during his time at BYU.