tl;dr VR headsets are likely to be your best option

The ChimeraX lookingglass command is for the previous generation of Looking Glass displays that use the HoloPlay Core API.   New code would need to be developed for the new generation of displays that use the Looking Glass Core API.

The Looking Glass 32" display, a minimal reasonable size for shared viewing, is reportedly $20,000.  So it's unlikely to be purchased by researchers.   You would be much better off, cheaper and better 3D, with multiple VR headsets.  Those headsets can be used with either (a) ChimeraX's multiperson VR, or, (b) with Quest VR headsets, our standalone LookSee application.   See https://www.rbvi.ucsf.edu/chimerax/data/looksee-mar2023/looksee.html for information about LookSee.

A good alternative for shared viewing is a 3D stereoscopic projector.  For this, ChimeraX needs a mid- to high-end workstation graphics card (AMD FirePro/RadeonPro or Nvidia Quadro) in your computer to connect to the projector.  There are several techniques that projectors can use to display 3D images.  Some 3D projectors work with passive glasses typically use left and right circularly polarized light to separate the left and right eye images.  The glasses are cheap, but you need a special screen that doesn't change the polarization of the projected images.  This is the technique that movie theaters use.  Other 3D projectors use time-multiplexed images.  For those, you need battery-operated glasses that receive a signal from the projector to turn on and off the individual eyes in conjunction with the eye that is being displayed.  For example, Nvidia's discontinued Vision 3D system used active glasses.  In the past that meant expensive 3D glasses that eat batteries.

And there are 3D stereoscopic TVs for shared viewing.  They are no longer made, but if you can find an one, that could work.  Some 3D TVs are passive, some active, some lose half the vertical resolution when displaying 3D.  Might work for you, might not. You would need a mid- to high-end workstation graphics card in this case too.

HTH,

Greg

On 1/4/24 16:25, Elaine Meng via ChimeraX-users wrote:

Hi Krish, There is a ChimeraX "lookingglass" command, see:

https://rbvi.ucsf.edu/chimerax/docs/user/commands/device.html#lookingglass

...which in turn links to this more detailed description of using ChimeraX with the LookingGlass display:

https://www.rbvi.ucsf.edu/chimerax/data/lookingglass-july2020/

See also this previous discussion on the chimerax-users mailing list:

https://mail.cgl.ucsf.edu/mailman/archives/list/chimerax-users@cgl.ucsf.edu/message/JSJ3IJEGYLT4IVMOV2R6BW7BG77GDRTH/

I hope this helps, Elaine

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Elaine C. Meng, Ph.D. UCSF Chimera(X) team Resource for Biocomputing, Visualization, and Informatics Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry University of California, San Francisco

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On Jan 2, 2024, at 9:09 AM, Krishnan Raman via ChimeraX-users chimerax-users@cgl.ucsf.edu wrote:

Hi guys, Happy new year. I came across this https://www.schrodinger.com/3d-visualization-looking-glass-holographic-displ... . Can we look forward to having this compatible for chimerax since we are having difficulty finding 3D stereo displays for structural biology. Regards Krish

Krishnan Raman Executive Director, Structural Biology BioCryst Pharmaceuticals

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