HTMoL – AR plugin is an initiative from Eric P. Sliwinski, Mikhail A. Kabeshov and Steven V. Ley for the web-based visualisation, analysis and report of computed structures or crystallographic data.
Originally developed as a part of the Organic Chemistry Science Gateway, the web-based application takes advantage from Augmented Reality technology to allow the user to quickly access specific molecular structural data with visualisation among a large number of computed structures, from any computing device equipped with a camera and an Internet connection.
The web-based viewer can also be employed for the semi-automatic animation of reaction pathways by linear interpolation of atom coordinates between consecutive computed reaction steps.
DEMO for animated reaction pathways
You will need a HTML5, WebGL, getUserMedia() compatible web browsing software. We would therefore recommend one of the latest version of Google Chrome™ or Mozilla FireFox™ (recommended).
Reaction pathways are animated by linear interpolation of each atom location between consecutive computed structures. When applicable, you can pause the animation at any time by using the Play/Pause button. You can also look over any specific structure on the reaction pathway with the help of the interactive progress bar. You can reset the view to its default state by using this button. You can toggle hydrogen visibility at any time by using the Hide/Show Hydrogens button. > N.B. This feature is only available when the animation is paused.
This feature allows you to monitor structure parameters such as a single atom coordinates, interatomic distances, angles or dihedral angles for any specific structure, by clicking on the atoms. > N.B. This feature is only available on desktops and laptops, when the animation is paused.
This feature allows you to save the Cartesian coordinates of all visible atoms for a specific structure as an *.xyz file. > N.B. This feature is only available on desktops and laptops, when the animation is paused.
You can center the 3D-molecular structure on a specific atom by right-clicking on it. When applicable, you can access the 3D representation of other computed structures by using one of the arrow buttons located on each side of the page. The 3D representation of a specific structure can also be accessed via the Augmented Reality Controls described below.
> N.B. This feature is only available on desktops and laptops.
Keyboard event listener was also implemented, providing basic shortcuts for some of the above features.
> N.B. This feature is only available on desktops and laptops.
The camera position (rotation, zoom) can also be controlled via a Leap Motion™ sensor device. Just wave your hand over the device to begin moving the camera around the molecular structure. Zoom controls are also accessible by pinching your index and thumb fingers.
> N.B. This feature is not available on Apple iOS devices at the moment, as the getUserMedia() API is not supported.
If you wish to try Augmented Reality controls, you will need a good quality printing of the provided AR marker, a good camera (with autofocus) and to allow the camera request.
You can also navigate to the 3D representation of a specific structure via AR. Upon termination of the video stream, when applicable, the main window should update to display the structure associated to the AR marker being detected.
> N.B. Zoom controls are disabled for this feature.
If you wish to try the Holographic Display, you will need a pyramidal mirror made from a semi-reflective transparent material. This mirror can be constructed, for example, by cutting this template into a thick (240 — 600 µm) acetate sheet.
For better performance, we would recommend to use that feature in a darkened room and to switch your web-browser to full-screen (by pressing F11).
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