Computational Biology Programme, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
University Scholars Programme, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
Biochem Mol Biol Educ. 2020 May;48(3):297-303. doi: 10.1002/bmb.21335. Epub 2020 Feb 20.
Understanding macromolecular structures is essential for biology education. Augmented reality (AR) applications have shown promise in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education, but are not widely used for protein visualization. While there are some tools for AR protein visualization, none of them are accessible to the layperson who possesses neither specialized AR hardware nor the technical skill to comfortably navigate three-dimensional (3D) rendering and file conversions. Here, we describe Palantir, an open source mobile Android application easily installable on compatible devices from the Google Play Store. Palantir does not require specialized hardware, printed image, manual 3D rendering, or file format conversion. Palantir makes AR macromolecular visualization accessible to anyone with a compatible mobile device, and we hope it finds widespread application in STEM education.
理解大分子结构对于生物学教育至关重要。增强现实（AR）应用在科学、技术、工程和数学（STEM）教育中显示出了巨大的潜力，但尚未广泛应用于蛋白质可视化。虽然有一些用于 AR 蛋白质可视化的工具，但它们都不适用于既没有专门的 AR 硬件，也没有舒适地进行三维（3D）渲染和文件转换的技术技能的非专业人士。在这里，我们描述了 Palantir，这是一个开源的移动 Android 应用程序，可以轻松地从 Google Play 商店安装在兼容的设备上。Palantir 不需要专门的硬件、打印图像、手动 3D 渲染或文件格式转换。Palantir 使任何拥有兼容移动设备的人都能够进行 AR 大分子可视化，我们希望它在 STEM 教育中得到广泛应用。
