underground features. With a hologram, all parties can see through the earth to the actual locations where explorations are made, samples are obtained, measurements are taken, design values are assigned or construction is planned. A holographic model can differ from a virtual reality experience, where a user is completely immersed in what is often a solitary adventure (even to some extent in so-called multiplayer environments). A 3D holographic environment is usually immersive, but less passive than 3D movies because users generally can interact in the 3D space from different vantage points by moving themselves around in the room or other setting. Viewers can participate in an augmented reality setting individually or within a collaborative group. When in a group, the common setting lends itself to interaction and, in the authors’ experiences, invariably a discussion ensues, wherein people are gesturing and interacting (to the extent possible) with the hologram. An immersive model also provides the following powerful advantages: • Revealing how little of the subsurface is actually characterized in typical investigations (which may lead to improved site characterization) • Rapidly facilitating a shared and common understanding of complex 3D data • Presenting design alternatives in 3D space (to enhance design selection) while using step-wise progressions of images or overlapping semi-transparent volumes Mitigating Foundation Risks Incomplete Data. The risk in construction below ground l ies in discovering unforeseen conditions or discovering that the planned means and methods of construction are not effective or desirable. Primary sources of risk during construction or service may relate to the foundation construction itself, or to ground stability. Geotechnical threats are often thought of as mischaracterized physical conditions such as low-quality samples or erroneous measurements. However, risk can also increase if important information such as boundary locations, material types and properties, and spatial or temporal variability have not been well defined across a site. That is, regardless of the accuracy, pre- cision, or quality of subsurface information that is available, if this information is incomplete, risks may increase. Design Risks. The same is true if subsurface conditions are not effectively communicated, which could lead to inappropriate interpretations and assessments due to oversimplification or overlooking critical factors. Research supports the importance for risk mitigation of Hologram of pile schematics, other data below Rice, Minnesota, street plan included a review of several geotechnical risk studies (Baynes, 2010), which concluded that “the ground conditions and the project staff responsible for the geo-engineering process are both DEEP FOUNDATIONS • MAY/JUNE 2020 • 17 Hologram of complex anchor design (credit: Dimitrios Konstantakos, Deep Excavation) improved communication and of the clear, comprehensive presentation of geotechnical information to internal and external project stakeholders. Two studies cited in the National Cooperative Highway Research Program’s NCHRP Synthesis 484, Influence of Geotechnical Investigation and Subsurface Conditions on Claims, Change Orders, and Overruns, concluded that large geotechnical project risks are attributable to human interpretation and decision- making aspects of the geotechnical design process. The Synthesis
