On Monday 19 May, GameLab joined other stakeholders in the InnovA58 area at the invitation of Rijkswaterstaat. We toured the area and demonstrated our 3D viewer.
The day began at the innovation pavilion alongside the A58. With water management as its theme, we toured the area between Oirschot and Best, which faces a major water challenge. Surplus water and drought alternate, affecting nature, businesses, farmers and households.
At the Kloosters site beside the A58, innovations are being tested to collect, retain and purify rainwater from the road. These innovations feature in the 3D viewer. It was fascinating to see them in person and connect the virtual and physical worlds.
The viewer’s usefulness became clear that morning during an overview of the area. Paper maps were handed out, but the presenter soon switched to the virtual simulation created by GameLab students. It allowed him to show the area as a whole and easily zoom in on individual innovations.
The water ecosystem
We saw different parts of the landscape, including farmland, nature reserves and infrastructure such as roads, canals and buildings. At each location, the guide explained its role in the wider system. This gave us a good overview of the ecosystem, how it is balanced and where that balance has been disrupted.
Those disruptions result from developments in the area over recent decades. Farming has intensified, the population has grown, and climate change adds to the pressure. Without management, some places will dry out while others flood. The urgency is clear from the irrigation bans regularly imposed on farmers, preventing them from watering their crops. Naturally, the consequences for harvests are devastating.
The stakeholders present included representatives of Eindhoven University of Technology, the province of Brabant, the water authority, the Ministry of Defence, nature conservation organisations, local businesses and, of course, Rijkswaterstaat. Representing GameLab were Jeroen Derwort and students Eric Bull and Nuno Sadi, who worked on the project, together with Christian Knaapen from GameTailors.
At the end of the day, we left for Brussels for the European symposium “Rural Roadwater Rescue”, which is all about collecting and purifying rainwater from roads. Here too, we will have the opportunity to use the 3D viewer so European partners can learn about the innovations and the applications of a 3D viewer in this field.