HandMol at MolecularWebXR.org: Immersive, multiuser visualization and interactive modeling with natural interactions, on the web across a wide range of devices.

Abstract

Understanding and manipulating the 3D structure and dynamics of molecular systems is central to all molecular sciences including structural biology. MolecularWebXR's new HandMol module provides a browser-based, multiuser environment for immersive molecular visualization and interactive modeling across all modern devices. Leveraging the WebXR standard, HandMol requires no installation, allowing users to seamlessly access shared virtual rooms from VR/AR headsets, mobile devices, or computers. HandMol enables natural interaction through hand tracking, allowing users to query atom information by pointing or to manipulate structures using bare-hand gestures. Real-time physics feedback is provided via integrated engines, including ANI-2x for small molecules, AMBER14 for atomistic biomolecular systems, and CALVADOS coarse-grained models. We demonstrate HandMol's utility through 3D-difficult tasks like ligand (un)docking, driving conformational changes, and preparing starting poses for simulations. This globally accessible platform facilitates scientific discussion, hypothesis testing, and immersive education by bridging high-performance molecular dynamics with intuitive, natural control in a collaborative virtual space. Resource link:https://molecularwebxr.org/ Direct link to HandMol:https://molecularwebxr.org/create.