Rendering molecules for fun and profit

Welcome to our project, an in-depth exploration of visualizing molecules led by Yannic Ellhotka and Simon Wesp. As part of the Visualization 2 & Real Time Visualization university course, this web application aims to provide an interactive platform for rendering and exploring molecular structures using cutting-edge graphics technologies. Our project leverages the power of WebGPU, a new web standard for low-level graphics and compute API, to create stunning visualizations of complex molecular structures in real-time.

This work is based on the research paper "Improving Perception of Molecular Surface Visualizations by Incorporating Translucency Effects" by Hermosilla, P., Maisch, S., Vazquez, P.-P., & Ropinski, T. (2018).

This paper deals with the problem of improving the way molecular surface visualizations are perceived, which are very important for analyzing molecular structures. Often, these visualizations make it difficult to see fine details and internal structures due to occlusion and simplification. The authors propose techniques inspired by the properties of translucent materials, such as subsurface scattering for better thickness perception, transparency for viewing underlying structures, and reflections and refractions to make the curvature easier to recognize. These methods aim to reduce visual clutter and give experts a clearer and more useful representation, supported by expert feedback and user studies.

Make sure to use a recent browser with WebGU support

Gallery