Using virtual reality systems to teach chemistry in 3-D
A team of researchers affiliated with several institutions across the U.K. has developed a framework for using virtual reality (VR) systems to teach chemistry. In their paper published on the open access site Science Advances, the team describes the system they developed and the advantages it has over standard teaching methods.
With their new system, the researchers point out, users are able to achieve co-location, which they describe as a phenomenon in which interactions in an actual 3-D physical space align with interactions in a simulated 3-D environment. Their system is cloud-based, which means the data used in the simulations can be constantly updated and improved, even as the system is being used.
The system currently allows six people to use the system at the same time—they can be in the same room, or other parts of the world. Users use wireless controllers that behave like tweezers, allowing them to grab molecules and their parts.
To test their system, the researchers asked 32 volunteers to carry out three different tasks: manipulating a methane molecule through a carbon nanotube, manipulating an organic helicene molecule to change its rotation, and finally, to tie a knot in a polypeptide. They report that most of the volunteers, none of whom had ever used a VR system before, were able to use the system to some degree.
Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2018-07-virtual-reality-chemistry-d.html#jCp
Read more at: https://phys.org/news/2018-07-virtual-reality-chemistry-d.html#jCp