Proteus Labs how-to

We extend our sincerest gratitude for selecting Proteus Labs as your companion in enriching the practical component of your science curriculum. At Proteus Labs, we are dedicated to continually enhancing our library, ensuring you have access to an extensive range of engaging activities.

Proteus Labs stands unparalleled as the premier augmented laboratory simulation available in the market, distinguished by its exclusive features:

Empirical Foundation

  • Every result is derived from empirical research and authentic chemical equations, ensuring accuracy and reliability.

Interactive Instruments

  • Experience full interactivity with all laboratory instruments, designed for an immersive learning environment.

Automated Lab Journal

  • Benefit from an auto-filling lab journal, conveniently delivered to you via email or USB, for effortless record-keeping and review.

Multiplayer Capability (TBD)

  • Engage in collaborative experiments with up to five users in the same lab environment simultaneously, fostering teamwork and peer learning.

Advanced Protocols:

  • Access pre-built and custom protocols, set to expand your experimental possibilities from March 2024 onward.

Wide Compatibility:

  • Designed for seamless integration with leading mobile VR headsets, including Meta Quest 2, 3, 3s, Pro, and Pico Neo 2, 3 and 4, ensuring a broad access spectrum. By choosing Proteus Labs, you are embarking on a journey of discovery and innovation. We are excited to support you in exploring the vast potential of VR in scientific education.

Installing Proteus Labs

To embark on your journey with Proteus Labs, please follow these simple steps to download the application:

Meta Quest

  • Navigate to the Horizon Store: Open the Horizon Store on your device.
  • Search for Proteus Labs: In the search bar, enter “Proteus Labs” (ensure you include the space between the words for accurate results).
  • Download the application: The download is complimentary and will commence immediately upon your confirmation.

Pico

  • Pico version will be available soon on the Pico Store.
  • We have designed this process to be as seamless as possible, ensuring you can quickly and efficiently set up Proteus Labs and start exploring the virtual laboratory environment. Should you encounter any issues during the installation process, our support team is ready to assist you.

Selecting Your Activity

  • On the main hub of Proteus Labs, you’ll find a curated list of scientific activities. Here’s how to join an activity:
  • Look for the ‘Join session’ option next to the activity you’re interested in. A simple click on ‘Join session’ will enroll you into the activity, ready to begin your virtual lab experience.
  • You can also add lab number in the bar on top of the main screen.
  • Selecting an activity is designed to be as straightforward as possible, allowing you to dive right into the heart of Proteus Labs without any unnecessary complexity.

Controllers

Aim your controller at the desired category’s cover displayed on the screen. A single click will select it. You can also use the right thumb stick button up and down to scroll selection.

Hand Tracking

Simply reach out and touch the cover representing your chosen category. This direct contact will confirm your selection and take you to the respective activities and simulations.

Using The Tablet in Lab Activities

  • Within each virtual lab activity at Proteus Labs, a digital tablet is provided as an essential tool for your scientific exploration. This interactive tablet is your gateway to a wealth of resources and functionalities designed to enhance your learning experience:

Protocol Access

  • Detailed step-by-step instructions for each experiment are readily available on the tablet, guiding you through the process.

Results Visualization

  • View your experiment results in both tabular and graphical formats, allowing for comprehensive data analysis.

Lab Journal

  • Keep track of your observations, notes, and conclusions within the digital journal feature, streamlining documentation and reflection.

Dictaphone

  • Dictate your observations whenever you think it’s important to take notes. Each intervention is timestamped.

Guide

  • Contains educational goals as well as a presentation of the lab.

Options Menu

  • Customize your lab experience and access additional settings through the tablet’s options menu. The tablet is designed to be intuitive and user-friendly, ensuring that you have all the necessary information and tools at your fingertips as you navigate through each lab activity.

Understanding The Log Feature

The Log is an integral component of the digital tablet provided in each lab activity within Proteus Labs. It meticulously records every action performed by the user, offering a comprehensive overview of:

User Actions

  • Each selection, adjustment, and input made during the lab activity is captured in real-time, providing a detailed account of your experimental process.

Reflective Learning Tool

  • This feature serves as a powerful reflective learning tool, allowing users to review their actions, understand the outcomes, and identify areas for improvement or further exploration. The Log is designed to enhance learning experience by providing tangible insights into your interaction within the virtual lab, ensuring that every step of your scientific inquiry is documented for review and analysis.

Detailed Results Recording in Proteus Labs

Graph1: Temperature vs. Time

  • Description: This graph tracks the relationship between temperature and time during your experiment.
  • Requirement: For accurate recording in this section, a thermometer must be present in the solution. This ensures that temperature data is reliably captured as your experiment progresses.

Graph2: Gas Volume vs. Time

  • Description: Analyze how the volume of gas changes over time under the conditions of your experiment.
  • Requirement: Results in this section are contingent on the setup of a complete gas burette montage. This setup is crucial for the precise measurement of gas volume changes.

Graph3: Volume vs. Pressure and 1/Volume vs. Pressure

  • Description: Explore the correlation between volume and pressure within your experimental setup.
  • Requirement: Data for this graph are derived from using Boyle’s apparatus, an essential tool for experiments investigating the principles of pressure and volume.

Graph4: Height of a drop of oil vs. Temperature

  • Description: Explore the correlation between volume and temperature within your experimental setup.
  • Requirement: Data for this graph are derived from using a capillary tube containing a drop of oil, an essential tool for experiments investigating the principles of temperature and volume.
  • Each of these sections is designed to provide a comprehensive view of your experimental results, emphasizing the importance of proper setup and instrumentation. By categorizing the results in this manner, Proteus Labs ensures a rich, data-driven understanding of the scientific principles at play.

Exploring The Options Menu in Proteus Labs

The Options Menu in Proteus Labs is designed to enhance your lab experience by providing a suite of tools and resources at your fingertips. Here’s an overview of the features available:

Periodic table

  • Show / hide the periodic table.

Send results

  • Results sharing: Easily share your experimental results via email by selecting the ‘Send Results’ option.

Reset Lab

  • With a single click, you can reset the entire lab to its original state. This feature is invaluable for starting a new experiment from scratch or clearing the workspace for a different activity.

Connection Menu

  • Navigate back to the main menu at any time by selecting this option. Please note that leaving the session will close your current activity, so ensure you’ve saved all necessary data or completed your tasks before exiting.
  • These options are integrated into Proteus Labs to support a seamless, efficient, and interactive learning environment, enabling you to focus on exploration and discovery without limitations.

Adjusting the tab & tablet

  • Adjusting the tab: At game start, you’ll find in front of you a blue sphere. Grab it to replace the lab at the desired height and location to fit your real place. The sphere will disappear when you grab any object at game start.
  • Adjusting the tablet: Grab the tablet stand and place it at the most convenient location for you.

Navigating the lab and scrolling the tablet

  • Navigate in the lab: Although not recommended (it can induce motion sickness), you can navigate in the lab with the left thumb stick (XY plane) or rotate with the right thumb stick (right or left).
  • Scroll the tablet: By using your hands directly on the tablet or using the right thumb stick (up/down).

Understanding Activity Constraints in Proteus Labs

Proteus Labs offers a dynamic and engaging virtual lab environment, designed to maximize learning through interactive experiences. However, to ensure optimal performance across all devices, certain limitations have been implemented. These include:

“Floor is Lava” Mechanism

  • In our immersive virtual environment, the “Floor is Lava” feature is always active. This playful yet practical feature ensures that any object dropped or falling to the ground will automatically return to its original location.
  • This mechanism prevents loss of essential items and maintains the continuity of your experiments.

Inanimate Objects

  • While Proteus Labs provides a variety of animated objects necessary for conducting experiments, not all objects in the virtual lab are interactive. This decision is made to accommodate the processing capabilities of mobile devices, ensuring a smooth and accessible experience for all users.

Selective Interactivity

  • It’s important to note that some objects, while not interactive in certain activities, may become interactive in others. This variability adds depth to the learning experience, encouraging exploration and adaptability.

Instruments And Containers

This annex provides detailed instructions and limitations for the use of various instruments and containers in the virtual lab environment of Proteus Labs.

Electronic Balance

  • How to Interact: Place the product on balance. Only the left/right tare buttons are active.
  • Limits: Maximum weight of 320.0g with a precision of 0.1g.

Triple Beam Balance

  • How to Interact: Place the product on balance. Check that the needle points to zero. If the needle is not aligned with the zero point, calibrate the balance using the adjustment screw. Refer to the lab “Balance Tutorial” for practical explanations.
  • Limits: Maximum weight of 610.0g with a precision of 0.1g.

Weight paper

  • Usage: Can hold ribbons and powders.
  • Limits: Maximum weight of 10.00g.

Timer

  • Functionality: Starts all ready-to-activate reactions. Stopping the timer does not halt the reactions. The red button is START/STOP, and blue button is RESET.
  • Reactions Tracked: Endothermic/Exothermic, Gas Production.

Spatulas, Tweezers, and Ice tongs

  • Functionality:
    • Spatula: Picks up powders, chunks, and ice cubes.
    • Tweezers: Picks up chunks and ice cubes.
    • Ice Tongs: Exclusively for ice cubes.
    • To open and close tweezers and tongs, use SPECIAL ACTION command.
  • Limits: Spatulas and tweezers have weight limits for picking up items, varying by material (pale grey: 0.3g, copper: 0.2g, dark grey: 0.1g; Tweezers: 0.1g for ribbons).

Thermometers

  • Usage: Measure temperature by placing in a solution. Can be attached to containers.
  • Limits:
    • Numeric: Max 150°C, Min -50°C.
    • Analog: Max 115°C, Min -20°C.

pH Meter

  • Functionality: Measures pH when placed in a solution. Don’t forget to rinse and dry the electrode before moving on to other solutions, to avoid errors in measurement.
  • Limits: pH range from 0 to 14

Calorimeter

  • Usage:
    • Green Button: Activates a magnetic stirrer for consistent results.
    • Limits: Maximum volume of 500mL solution.

Graduated cylinders / Beakers / Erlenmeyer / Test tubes

  • Functionality: Use for precise volume measurements and gas production capture.
  • Sizes and Uses:
    • Cylinders: 10/25/50/70/100/250mL; use meniscus for volume accuracy.
    • Beakers: 50/100/250/500/600/750/1000 mL for general use.
    • Erlenmeyer Flasks: 25/50/100/250 mL for burette montage and gas capture.
    • Test Tubes: 25/50 mL

Gaugeated Flasks: 100/250/500 mL

  • Caps and holed caps can be put on Erlenmeyer flasks. test tubes, and gaugeated flasks.

Pipette and Dropper

  • Usage: Fill and distribute liquid. Pipette dispenses a fixed volume at each push; dropper dispenses 0.05mL per push. To use, use SPECIAL ACTION command.
  • Limits: Pipette max volume 5mL; Dropper max volume 1mL (20 drops).

Burette

  • Usage: Fill and submerge in liquid for water retention experiments.
  • Specific Requirement: Must be submerged in liquid to retain its content (hydrostatic pressure).
  • To prepare the burette: Fill the gas burette with water, then block its opening with your thumb (HAND TRACKING) or use SPECIAL ACTION command. You can then hold the burette upside down and plunge it into a water container. Once secured in the container, you can remove your thumb.

Hotplate and Magnetic Agitator

  • Functionality:
    • Left Deep Blue Button: Activates/Deactivates magnetic agitator (if present).
    • Red Button / Light Blue Button: Hold your finger on the button to Increase / Decrease the target temperature.
  • Limits: Heats water-based liquids up to 110°C.

Boyle’s Apparatus and Air Pump

  • Usage: For pressure experiments. Follow steps found in the lab “Relation between volume and gas pressure 2” for practical explanations.
  • Limits: Maximum air pressure 700 kPa.

Lab Stand and Clamps

  • Usage: Attach clamps to the stand to complete a montage. You can click on the red arrow on the top to rotate the empty clamps to attain the desired setup.

Microscope

  • Usage: The microscope can be used in conjunction with the slides to observe at 40x, 100x, 400x, 1000x and 2000. Refer to the lab “Observation of Animal Cells” for practical explanations.

Syringe

  • Usage: To measure the precise volume of gas and liquids.
  • Functionality:
    • Hand Tracking: 2 ways to use it: 1) Grab the syringe with one hand, and with the other hand put your finger on the up or down arrow to pull or push; 2) Grab the syringe, then press with your thumb over (pull) or under (push) the piston.
    • Controllers: Use SPECIAL ACTION command to push or pull and press X (left) or A (right) controller buttons to alternate between push and pull.

Stirring / Shaking liquids

  • To stir and shake liquids, you can:
  • Use glass stirrer
  • Shake capped containers
  • Use a magnetic agitator with the hotplate
  • Note: Test tubes and Erlenmeyer flasks require caps before shaking.

Misc. instruments

  • Other instruments are specific to certain activities: Bunsen burner, Capillary tube, Clock, Watch glass, Mortar & Pestle, Lighter, Nail, Overflow vessel, Shoe box, Glass Connectors, Bucket plate, Funnel, Filter, Towel, Ruler, Wood stick.

Lab Protection

  • Usage: Wearing and removal are done by touching the gloves (nitrile and heat protection), protective glasses, and lab coat, or their empty location (for removal). This annex is intended to provide users with a comprehensive understanding of the tools at their disposal within the virtual lab, ensuring a productive and safe learning environment.
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