Abstract
AbstractMolecularWebXR is our new website for education, science communication and scientific peer discussion in chemistry and biology built on WebXR. It democratizes multiuser, inclusive virtual reality (VR) experiences that are deeply immersive for users wearing high-end headsets, yet allow participation by users with consumer devices such as smartphones, possibly inserted into cardboard goggles for immersivity, or even computers or tablets. With no installs as it is all web-served, MolecularWebXR enables multiple users to simultaneously explore, communicate and discuss chemistry and biology concepts in immersive 3D environments, manipulating objects with their bare hands, either present in the same real space or scattered throughout the globe thanks to built-in audio features. A series of preset rooms cover educational material on chemistry and structural biology, and an empty room can be populated with material preparedad hocusing moleculARweb’s VMD-based PDB2AR tool. We verified ease of use and versatility by users aged 12-80 in entirely virtual sessions or mixed real-virtual sessions at science outreach events, student instruction, scientific collaborations, and conference lectures. MolecularWebXR is available for free use without registration athttps://molecularwebxr.org, and a blog post version of this preprint with embedded videos is available athttps://go.epfl.ch/molecularwebxr-blog-post.
Publisher
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory