IRJET- VR Simulation of Chemisrty Lab using Blender and Unity

International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology (IRJET)

e-ISSN: 2395-0056

Volume: 08 Issue: 07 | July 2021

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VR SIMULATION OF CHEMISRTY LAB USING BLENDER AND UNITY PURAB SHREENIWAS A1, SHIJO YOHANNAN2, SHAILESH P.M3, SYED SAHIL ABBAS4, VANDANA C.P5 1,2,3,4Students,

Department of Information Science and Engineering, New Horizon College of Engineering, Bangalore, India 5Assitant Professor, Department of Information Science and Engineering, New Horizon College of Engineering, Bangalore, India ---------------------------------------------------------------------***---------------------------------------------------------------------

Abstract -The new age of coping with change has led us

communicable diseases spread easily if strict actions are not registered to clean the apparatus used.

to use all the technology to make everything in our day-today work and study life available remotely. In the time of virtual education and virtual meetings, this project aims to add to the virtual education. Modern times have made us realize that classes can be held online and does not require physical presence in the institution of education, but the same cannot be said for the laboratory integrated subjects.

Our solution to having access to laboratories that would require physical engagement is to simulate the laboratory and its exercises to give an equivalent interactive experience through a VR rendered 3D simulation. In this project we are simulating a chemistry laboratory with 3D animation. This allows the user to perform experiments the same way that they would in a chemistry laboratory. The simulation is rendered in VR so that the user can interact with the elements in the 3D environment. The elements are created with Blender and the interactions are controlled by Unity.

We believe that this project can help colleges and schools that have chemistry laboratory integration to their subjects.

Key Words: Chemistry lab simulation, distancing, 3D animation, Online education.

In this modern era, books are being converted into eBooks. Modern search engines make finding facts a breeze; with only a few clicks, you may obtain answers to a wide range of questions. While knowledge has become more accessible to a wider range of people, the current educational approach has two major flaws. It follows the same formula as before: fact retention. The focus of teaching methods is on presenting facts; yet, having access to and digesting a large amount of knowledge is not the same as learning. Being informed isn’t the same as being educated.

Many people find it challenging to absorb information.

Students might easily become overwhelmed if they are given too much knowledge in a short amount of time. As a result, they get bored, disinterested, and often unsure why they are learning about a topic at all.[6] Our solution provides for interactive classes as well where 3D world is limited only to the imagination of its creator.

social

Virtual Reality is a technology that enables everyone to experience the unthinkable. A three-dimensional, computer-generated environment that can be explored and interacted with is referred to as virtual reality.

1. INTRODUCTION With the advancements in science and technology with time, there is ample assistive technology available to create and use the virtual reality world.

The concept has existed since the invention of computers, according to a broad definition. In recent years, the number of virtual reality applications has skyrocketed.

Consequential attempts have been undertaken to make the mandatory technology affordable to the general public.[7]

The project was developed to support social distancing and to provide for laboratory experience in the field of chemistry.[2] The interactions required to perform a chemistry experiment varies from simply introducing two solutions by mixing them together to carefully drawing in solution into a pipette by using suction with one’s own mouth. Titration is one such experiment where the pipette and burette is used to perform the experiment. There was always anxiety in the experiment due to such an interaction for the pipette. This interaction breaks the most valid protocol of social distancing. Usage of an item by more than one person where the preliminary usage of the item is with the mouth of the person. This helps

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This project will help the user have an interactive experience in a virtual chemistry laboratory where they can look around in all directions as if they were actually present there, furthermore it allows them to interact with the surroundings and move the few selected apparatus as required to perform a particular task.

The interactions in the project allow for picking up and moving test tubes in the environment to perform

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International Research Journal of Engineering and Technology (IRJET)

e-ISSN: 2395-0056

Volume: 08 Issue: 07 | July 2021

p-ISSN: 2395-0072

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experiments. Other forms of engaging interactions are not yet supported where complex experiments like titration that require stirring of the mixture and controlled flow of solutions can be performed.

equipment. The Virtual Reality instructional tool comprises of a virtual reality camera in the lab connected to a teaching assistant who performs the experiment in front of a classroom full of virtual reality gaming gadgets watched by students. The classroom experience of experimenting is shared with the pupils. Furthermore, without being constrained by safety considerations, the VR teaching tool can deliver an immersive experience on laboratory demonstrations to the general public for outreach. Further use of the VR instructional tool is projected to break down the barrier between the lecture hall and the laboratory, allowing for more collaboration of new pedagogical methods for lectures in STEM education.

The Covid-19 pandemic led everyone to isolation from the public. The systems of the society cannot stay idle for long.

We had to find a way to make everything work again. The wheels have to keep turning. The solution for education and work came with virtual meeting platforms. All classes and meetings could be held in these platforms. All possible systems that can run virtually are doing so. This project will enable one more system to the virtual world, the laboratories.

[9]

Creating the laboratory environment, where a specific set of experiments have to be performed can form the set of experiments requiring completion by a course. The laboratory is rendered in VR output so that the user can interact with the elements as he would in a real-world chemistry laboratory. The built environment, if shared to each and every individual who are required to perform the experiments, can allow for remote access and completion of the course without having to be present physically in the laboratory.

The possibility of having remote laboratory access is what drives the motivation for this project. Experiments involving interactions that threaten the safety provided by social distancing can be done with this application where there will be no protocols for social distancing violated.

With the development of new research tools and scientific instruments, modern analytical and physical chemistry research evolves. Microscopes of numerous types have been developed. Spectrometers and chromatography have transformed how chemical imaging, analysis, and separations have been performed for decades. Analytical and physical chemistry education should keep up with the advancements in modern scientific instruments. Those instruments, on the other hand, are frequently costly to purchase, maintain, and operate. Rarely can a university finance a fleet of pricey and cutting-edge research tools only for educational purposes. As a result, rather than keeping up with the latest developments, the design of the analytical chemistry curriculum is constrained by the access and availability of scientific instruments. How do we get around the problem of limited access to scientific information and the demand for advanced content that necessitates the use of scientific equipment? In this technological report, we address this issue by developing a virtual reality (VR) chemistry education tool that uses VR links to connect scientific instruments to a big classroom.

Virtual reality technology allows users to immerse themselves in situations where they are unable to physically be there. Virtual reality technology has already been used to deliver a virtual field trip to an oversea location for environmental chemistry lectures.

Figure 1: The virtual environment

In organic chemistry courses, virtual reality was used to allow students to experience molecular shapes and motions. We want to use real-time VR technology in our development and integrate interactions between students, teachers, and teaching assistants.

2. LITERATURE REVIEW

Another utilization of the VR instructive device is to give showing administration during the unique time that social removing is required. For instance, the Coronavirus episode in 2020 quickly shifts the talks online to try not to assemble a huge gathering of understudies in a homeroom or a research facility. The internet instructing of lab courses that includes collaboration among understudies and instruments is troublesome without admittance to the instrument. The VR instructive apparatus can be utilized

Providing access to up-to-date and expensive instruments for a large classroom is hard, for courses in analytical chemistry and physical chemistry, where understanding of analytical procedures or demonstration of phenomena is associated with a specialized instrument. We present our solution to this problem in this technical report: a virtual reality (VR) chemistry instructional tool that allows a big classroom to get hands-on experience with research

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Volume: 08 Issue: 07 | July 2021

p-ISSN: 2395-0072

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to interface understudies at home to explore exhibits in the lab by the TA. The homeroom site for the VR instructive apparatus isn't really restricted to an actual homeroom; all things considered, the cooperation among understudies and the teacher can be given by an online homeroom to fulfill the necessity of social separating. The VR instructive apparatus can be coordinated into VR lab demonstrations, like utilizing 3D displaying to make VR settings in PCs for showing of trial methodology or instruments before the genuine research center meeting begins. For this situation, understudies will be more ready for performing lab meetings. It likewise permits showing progressed STEM courses for far off regions where admittance to the genuine trial hardware is restricted. The VR instructive apparatus will be an evening out innovation for the difference of instructive assets because of geographic limitations or the degree of social turn of events. The VR instructive apparatus can likewise be utilized for effort to K12 schools by research facilities of advanced education foundations.

Figure 3: Position of test tube when moved Here it is seen that the test tube content maintains its color when held in a different position and above the visible flame from the Bunsen burner element. This position shows that the test tube in the position above the flame is not changing its color as it is not within the interactive distance with the flame element. When this test tube is positioned closer to the flame element it is visible as such:

3. PROPOSED SYSTEM The data in this project are positional data of the elements in the environment. The elements interacting with each other is based on the change in position of the elements.

For one element that is a test tube the positional change is such when it is interacted with:

Figure 4: Content of the test tube changes color after heating It can be inferred that the position of the test tube has changed and the color of the content in the test tube has changed from brown to mustard yellow. This change confirms the elements - test tube and flame have come to a position that allows for them to interact. This interaction has caused a change in the color of the liquid. The position of the elements determined the trigger for the change of color for the content in the test tube. The data used for the interactions is hence the positional attributes of the elements.[8]

Figure 2: Initial position In this position the elements are seen to be in their initial position. The array of test tubes in the right are active elements. Active elements mean that these elements can be interacted with and manipulated. When the second test tube from the left in the test tube holder is selected and moved to a different position this is the result:

The following diagram depicts the use case of the application. The use case for the application is when the chemistry labs are inaccessible for students of a course, this program will help with practical understanding of the laboratory experiments. The requirements are VR headset

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Volume: 08 Issue: 07 | July 2021

p-ISSN: 2395-0072

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and controllers for an immersive experience. This application also runs on the student’s personal computer where the application is interactive with an available mouse.

The chemistry laboratory should have its experiments that can be performed. In this project we have simulated four experiments: 1.

CuCO3

2.

CuSO4.5H2O

3.

2Pb3O4

4.

2HgO

heat

CuO + CO2

heat heat heat

Figure 7: Solution changes color again to yellow on cooling

CuSO4 + 5H2O

6PbO +O2

4. METHODOLOGY

2Hg + O2

I. SYSTEM ARCHITECTURE

In the below figures we can see the color change as part of the experiment number three where the orange Pb3O4 changes its color to reddish brown when heated and yellow when it is cooled. [8]

The interactions in the simulation are those between the user and elements and between elements themselves. The interactions between the user and elements are based of the selection of a 3D element in the camera view of the environment. The selected element can be moved along any of the axis. The coding of the movement of elements is such that the camera tracks the movement of the element and moves along the tracked path of movement.

The interaction between elements is based of the distance between these elements. When these elements that are touching each other, such as a test tube and the flame, the interaction trigger sets off leading to the change of color of the contents in the test tube. The interactions, camera movement, element tracking, and change in color are all coded in C#.

Figure 5: Orange solution of lead oxide in the second test tube from left

Figure 8: System Architecture

Figure 6: Solution changes color to reddish brown on heating

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Volume: 08 Issue: 07 | July 2021

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II. FLOWCHART

Figure 10: When CuSO4.H2O brought near flame element

Figure 11: CuSO4.H2O changes color to white Figure 9: Work flow

Experiment 2: Heating of CuCO3

The application when launched finds the 3D elements within its camera frame. These 3D elements, have properties that allow them to be dragged and dropped along the axes. The active elements in the environment when interacts with each other, like the test tubes and the flame, a change in the color of the content of the test-tube occurs. Until this change is noticed the elements have to be brought near each other. The change in the color of the elements is not spontaneous and is only triggered when it comes in contact with the flame.

5. EXPERIMENTAL RESULT Figure 12: When CuCO3 brought near flame element

Experiment 1: Heating of CuSO4.H2O (blue solution).

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7. REFERENCES [1]

Marek Tesar (2017). Towards a Post-Covid-19 ‘New Normality?’: Physical and Social Distancing, the Move to Online and Higher Education

[2]

A S Shidiq1, A Permanasari1, Hernani , and S Hendayana1 (2021). Chemistry teacher responses to learning in the COVID-19 outbreak: Challenges and opportunities to create innovative lab-work activities

[3]

S. AlAwadhi, N. AlHabib, D. Murad, F. AlDeei, M. AlHouti, T. Beyrouthy, S. Al-Kork. Virtual reality application for interactive and informative learning

[4]

Sandra Dutra Piovesan, Liliana Maria Passerino and Adriana Soares Pereira2 (2012). VIRTUAL REALITY AS A TOOL IN THE EDUCATION

[5]

Mehryar Nooriafshar, Ron Williams, Tek Narayan Maraseni (September 2004).The use of virtual reality in education

[6]

John Hedberg & Shirley Alexander (Jul 2006). Virtual Reality in Education: Defining Researchable Issues

[7]

Cynthia Newsome (November 2020). Medical schools increasingly turn to virtual reality amid COVID-19 pandemic

[8]

AxelGroß (2002). The virtual chemistry lab for reactions at surfaces: Is it possible? Will it be useful?

[9]

Tian, Yuming & Fu, Haoluo & Liu, Jiawei & Wang, Le & Xu, Xiaoji. (2020). Virtual Reality Educational Tool for Connecting Chemistry Lecture with Remote Laboratory Demonstrations.

Figure 13: CuCO3 changes light green to black

6. CONCLUSIONS We believe that this project will be instrumental in a time where the access to laboratories is limited. In 2019 when the pandemic got the whole world, the quick response and solutions to shift education and work to virtual platforms was one way to have everything moving.[1] In such a time, laboratories were the hardest to implement, in terms of education. [5] This project is also for those who would like to access the laboratories but are not able to because of distance and inaccessibility physically or various other reasons.

The project was created with animation in 3D not only to provide for learning but also to provide a safe space where the deviations from the experiment and its consequences are minimum. The 3D immersive experience can be out of the ordinary, capturing the attention of its users more than regular labs attended physically.

The project allows for a reality where the resources are never exhausted. The chemicals that are used in the realworld laboratory can be expensive and hard to maintain.

In a virtual reality where you can do something, restart and everything is back to the same as it was in the beginning offers the best cost cutting solution to this problem.

The virtual platform has a fixed number of possible actions. In a real-world laboratory however, the resources could be misused. This project offers a solution to all misuse of resources in a chemistry laboratory.

The project can work as a hybrid learning platform. This flexibility can inspire the education field to make use of such platforms.

This project could also be seen as a game, providing its immersive experience to its users and keeping them interested.

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