It is now possible to examine different kinds of organic molecules within our university library – completely without the help of microscopes, additional computers or physical models. Similar to the words of Jules Verne: “Anything capable of being imagined will one day be made reality.”
Use of VR headsets within science teaching
Students of the Applied Natural Science programme were able to freely explore the virtual molecule museum while answering questions from their tutor about structure, synthesis and use of the respective organic molecules. This all happened during a tutorial lesson on Organic Chemistry.
How the “ChemieVR” app came into being
The programming part of this particular VR app was mainly managed by PhD students from our Department of Computer Science. Apart from including intuitive manipulation methods for the virtual objects and means of navigation within the virtual museum, the main focus of the app’s implementation lays in avoiding so-called “motion sickness”, which is similar to getting seasick, but within VR.
Considering the app’s content our scientists from the Department of Organic Chemistry delivered the “business logic”. For reasons of better clarity, the “ball-and-stick model” is used to represent the different molecules.
And how does that work in detail?
Within the ChemieVR app you can freely interact with all available molecule models. That means: By using the VR controllers you are able to grab any molecule on display and rotate/move them in any direction you want. How this might look shows the following GIF animation:
In contrast to real (i.e., physical) molecule models you are able to “throw” those anywhere you want. After restarting the application every molecule is back at its place.
On the pedestals you can find question mark-buttons that are displaying further information on the respective substances. This way things like structure formulas, occurrence, manufacturing and application areas can be made visible.
About the Mixed Reality Space
Our university library’s working group “Mixed Reality“ offers the utilisation of the “Mixed Reality Space”. Interested students and researchers alike are welcome to use our VR headsets (Pico 4E) to dive into all kinds of virtual scenarios.
These and other apps can be used by any registered library user – no matter if it’s individually or in small groups respectively during a lesson or research. Only prerequisite would be the one-time participation for a VR beginner course. VR headsets can be borrowed – their usage is limited to the confines of the Bibliotheks- und Hörsaalzentrum building. Upcoming appointments will be displayed on the website of the university library.