VR laser pointer for picking

[Tom Goddard]

Wilian notes in the message below that VR bond rotation is difficult for new users. I also have observed this.

Certainly some visual feedback would help. It is probably too computationally demanding to constantly see what a laser pointer hits, and also visually it is not wanted much of the time, and we have no way of knowing when the user wants it.

Maybe a laser pointer that appears when the press the bond rotation controller button and the laser either strikes the bond indicating success or goes off into the distance indicating a miss and giving the user a clue about how they missed. The laser pointer should probably disappear in 0.5 seconds instead of flying around as they hold the button and rotate after a successful pick. I could see the user after a miss holding the button and moving to make the laser hit the bond, but then being surprised that the laser passes right through the bond. Not sure what to do about that misleading visual feedback.

Ideally this laser would apply to all picking actions, not just bond rotation, for example swapaa, or pressing a button on the user interface.

Another bit of visual feedback might be to select the bond when it is picked so the user knows it is hit and does not release the button before rotating.

I could also make two distinct sounds, one for a successful pick and one for a miss.

Eric suggests possibly using a different color laser beam for a hit versus a miss.

Begin forwarded message:

From: "Cortopassi, Wilian"
Subject: Feedback and some questions
Date: February 12, 2020 at 3:46:39 PM PST
To: Tom Goddard

Hi Tom,

Initial demo sessions here in Emeryville have been very nice – we have been working with both Vive and Oculus in the same session without major issues. People seemed to really enjoy it and find it useful for their projects. Being able to see the density files together with the 3D models is very impactful. We have also been able to do cross-site communications without firewall restrictions, which was interesting. Thanks for your full support, it is highly appreciated. It has been a very nice experience using VR with ChimeraX.

As for questions/feedback, do you believe it would be better to send them through another channel or may I keep asking questions directly to you? Either works for me.

...

(vii) The bond rotation function is usually quite difficult to execute;

...

These were the notes I took during the sessions, and I thought it would be useful to share them with you. I have more sessions next week, so I may have more notes to share as more people give it a try. Overall, very positive experience!

Have a nice week,

Wilian