MoleculARweb: A Website for Chemistry and Structural Biology Education Through Interactive Augmented Reality out of the Box in Commodity Devices

Here we introduce MoleculARweb, a purely web-based AR platform for chemistry, molecular and structural biology education that runs out of the box in regular web browsers in ordinary computers, laptops, tablets and smartphones. Through regular-printed markers recognized via the device’s webcam, students and teachers can handle molecules in an AR environment to interactively explore their structure, dynamics and interactions. The release version of MoleculARweb features over 20 activities covering topics about molecular shapes, atomic and molecular orbitals, acid-base equilibria and hydrogen bonding, protein and nucleic acid structures, X-ray diffraction and electron microscopy, and molecular mechanics; applicable from high school to early university levels. MoleculARweb is freely available without registration at https://MoleculARweb.epfl.ch in 6 languages.