Touching Molecules With Your Bare Hands
April 11, 2005 | Source: KurzweilAI
Scripps Research Institute scientists are develping new technology that combines hand-held objects with sophisticated computer displays, called Tangible Interfaces for Structural Molecular Biology.
It uses 3-D fabricating printers that “print” solid objects out of thousands of layers of plaster or plastic, allowing for construction of models of proteins, DNA, and other biological molecules. These models can be touched, twisted, tweaked, and tossed from person to person.
Then, using a simple digital video camera to capture and track images of these objects, the group is able to create an artificial environment in which the computer interfaces with the object in augmented reality.
The molecular model appears on the computer screen, tumbling and turning in real time as the person holding the object manipulates it, and software designed by the Scripps Research team enables the computer to superimpose scientific information about the molecule onto the display.