The use of haptic interfaces and web services in crystallography: an application for a `screen to beam' interface

Abstract

Haptic interfaces have become common in consumer electronics. They enable easy interaction and information entry without the use of a mouse or keyboard. The work presented here illustrates the application of a haptic interface to crystallization screening in order to provide a natural means for visualizing and selecting results. By linking this to a cloud-based database and web-based application program interface, the same application shifts the approach from `point and click' to `touch and share', where results can be selected, annotated and discussed collaboratively. In the crystallographic application, given a suitable crystallization plate, beamline and robotic end effector, the resulting information can be used to close the loop between screening and X-ray analysis, allowing a direct and efficient `screen to beam' approach. The application is not limited to the area of crystallization screening; `touch and share' can be used by any information-rich scientific analysis and geographically distributed collaboration.