ALTERNATIVE MOLECULAR VISUALIZATION TECHNOLOGIES

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This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. Primary support for the subproject and the subproject's principal investigator may have been provided by other sources, including other NIH sources. The Total Cost listed for the subproject likely represents the estimated amount of Center infrastructure utilized by the subproject, not direct funding provided by the NCRR grant to the subproject or subproject staff. Interactive molecular visualization and analysis is typically done using desktop computers, standard 3-dimensional video game graphics, and mouse and keyboard input devices. This standard platform is well-suited for 2-dimensional visualization but is not ideal for viewing and manipulating 3-dimensional models. A wide variety of alternative technologies can complement this traditional computer graphics environment and enable more productive methods of 3-dimensional data analysis. All of these methods are currently rather exotic being use by at most a few percent of molecular structure researchers. This project explores and promotes technologies that may become next-generation analysis methods. Specific technologies we are exploring include printing 3-dimensional plastic models using rapid-prototyping machines from mechanical engineering, making lenticular images which are printed scenes that provide depth perception without special glasses, new stereo displays using flat panel displays and polarized or shutter glasses, displaying in planetarium-style domes, using the Nintendo Wii game controller or web cameras to track user head-motion to control view angle in a scene, using 6 degree-of-freedom input devices for rotation and moving objects in a scene. We present the results of many of these technology studies in a "Technology Notes" section of our Resource center web site. http://www.cgl.ucsf.edu/Outreach/technotes/index.html