Augmented Chemistry: An Interactive Educational Workbench

This system paper reports on some of the advantages tangible interaction can bring to chemistry education. The paper describes the realisation of an in-house designed Tangible User Interface (TUI) called Augmented Chemistry (AC). A set of interactive tools work within this system. Using these tools, elements can be chosen from a booklet menu and composed into 3D molecular models. The tools indicate one way towards realising a seamless integration of the physical and digital realms. Since many tools can be used concurrently, single and multiple users can interact with the system at a time. To use the system in an educational context, it was extended into an educational workbench drawing on haptic and aural augmentation. The design and implementation of the AC system required contributions from optics, mathematics, molecular chemistry, software engineering, and 3D programming, making it a truly interdisciplinary project. Future challenges lie in user acceptance, educational effect, and further system development.