Snakey: A Tangible User Interface for Well Path Planning in the Context of Reservoir Engineering

Abstract

We present Snakey, a tangible user interface (TUI) designed for the field of reservoir engineering. The Snakey interface focuses on intuitive manipulation and interaction with 3D curves common to underground well path planning. Our paper discusses design goals and prototyping solutions relating to the physical materials, sensing technology, input/output mapping, and multi-modal information feedback of the Snakey TUI. The paper also discusses a design critique of the latest prototype interface performed by domain experts (experienced reservoir engineers) and concludes by outlining our findings regarding the next steps required to improve the current Snakey interface prototype.