Narupa iMD: A VR-Enabled Multiplayer Framework for Streaming Interactive Molecular Simulations

Here we present Narupa iMD, an open-source software package which enables multiple users to cohabit the same virtual reality space and interact with real-time molecular simulations. The framework utilizes a client-server architecture which links a flexible Python server to a VR client which handles the rendering and user interface. This design helps ensure utility for research communities, by enabling easy access to a wide range of molecular simulation engines for visualization and manipulation of simulated nanoscale dynamics at interactive speeds.