Projector-Based Textures for 3D Printed Models (DAAV)

In biochemistry, a common task is to examine the properties of molecules, such as charge and hydrophobicity, as well as the interactions between molecules. Usually, this is done by 3D simulation programmes. It is well known that navigation and manipulation in a desktop 3D environment can be very tedious. We propose a tangible user interface approach, inspired by the increasing availability of 3D printing technology: The models of molecules can be 3D-printed and thus directly interacted with. Together with a projector-based spatial augmented reality setup, known as "Shader Lamps", the properties of the molecules can be visualized directly on the printed model. We introduce an expansible and easy-to-use framework for projector based shading of 3D printed objects, together with a convenient workflow for potential users, including system setup and calibration. Together with researchers from molecular dynamics, we investigate the usability of the system and its applicability to the above-named task. We also show how the system can be utilized for other visualization tasks.