Interactive multi-frame reconstruction for mobile devices

The small size of handheld devices, their video capabilities and multiple cameras are under-exploited assets. Properly combined, the features can be used for creating novel applications that are ideal for pocket-sized devices, but may not be useful in laptop computers, such as interactively capturing and analyzing images on the fly. In this paper we consider building mosaic images of printed documents and natural scenes from low resolution video frames. High interactivity is provided by giving a real-time feedback on the video quality, while simultaneously guiding the user’s actions. In our contribution, we analyze and compare means to reach interactivity and performance with sensor signal processing and GPU assistance. The viability of the concept is demonstrated on a mobile phone. The achieved usability benefits suggest that combining interactive imaging and energy efficient high performance computing could enable new mobile applications and user interactions.     

Interactive ray tracing for volume visualization

Presents a brute-force ray-tracing system for interactive volume visualization. The system runs on a conventional (distributed) shared-memory multiprocessor machine. For each pixel, we trace a ray through a volume to compute the color for that pixel. Although this method has a high intrinsic computational cost, its simplicity and scalability make it ideal for large data sets on current high-end parallel systems. To gain efficiency, several optimizations are used, including a volume bricking scheme and a shallow data hierarchy. These optimizations are used in three separate visualization algorithms: isosurfacing of rectilinear data, isosurfacing of unstructured data, and maximum-intensity projection on rectilinear data. The system runs interactively (i.e. at several frames per second) on an SGI Reality Monster. The graphics capabilities of the Reality Monster are used only for display of the final color image     

Interactive volume visualization of general polyhedral grids

This paper presents a novel framework for visualizing volumetric data specified on complex polyhedral grids, without the need to perform any kind of a priori tetrahedralization. These grids are composed of polyhedra that often are non-convex and have an arbitrary number of faces, where the faces can be non-planar with an arbitrary number of vertices. The importance of such grids in state-of-the-art simulation packages is increasing rapidly. We propose a very compact, face-based data structure for representing such meshes for visualization, called two-sided face sequence lists (TSFSL), as well as an algorithm for direct GPU-based ray-casting using this representation. The TSFSL data structure is able to represent the entire mesh topology in a 1D TSFSL data array of face records, which facilitates the use of efficient 1D texture accesses for visualization. In order to scale to large data sizes, we employ a mesh decomposition into bricks that can be handled independently, where each brick is then composed of its own TSFSL array. This bricking enables memory savings and performance improvements for large meshes. We illustrate the feasibility of our approach with real-world application results, by visualizing highly complex polyhedral data from commercial state-of-the-art simulation packages.     

Interactive visualization of 3D medical data

Techniques for rendering 3-D medical data are described. They consist of (1) surface-based techniques, which apply a surface detector to the sample array, then fit geometric primitives to the detected surfaces, and finally render the resulting geometric representation; (2) binary voxel techniques, which begin by thresholding the volume data to produce a three-dimensional binary array; the cuberille algorithm then renders this array by treating 1's as opaque cubes having six polygonal faces; and (3) volume-rendering techniques, a variant of the binary voxel techniques in which a color and a partial opacity are assigned to each voxel; images are formed from the resulting colored, semitransparent volume by blending together voxels projecting to the same pixel on the picture plane. Specialized display devices (stereo viewers, varifocal mirrors, cine sequences, real-time image-generation systems, and head-mounted displays) are described. Topics for future research are identified     

Interactive clipping techniques for texture-based volume visualization and volume shading

We propose clipping methods that are capable of using complex geometries for volume clipping. The clipping tests exploit per-fragment operations on the graphics hardware to achieve high frame rates. In combination with texture-based volume rendering, these techniques enable the user to interactively select and explore regions of the data set. We present depth-based clipping techniques that analyze the depth structure of the boundary representation of the clip geometry to decide which parts of the volume have to be clipped. In another approach, a voxelized clip object is used to identify the clipped regions. Furthermore, the combination of volume clipping and volume shading is considered. An optical model is introduced to merge aspects of surface-based and volume-based illumination in order to achieve a consistent shading of the clipping surface. It is demonstrated how this model can be efficiently incorporated in the aforementioned clipping techniques.     

Multimodality visualization of medical volume data

New developments in 3-D volume acquisitions are creating a rapidly increasing demand for integrating multimodality 3-D visualization. In order to accomplish routine clinical multimodality visualization, many issues have to be dealt with, such as techniques for accurate spatial registration, integrated representation, suitable graphical user interfaces, and obtaining adequate rendering speeds. The aim of this experience paper is 2-fold. First, it presents various results from our research on multimodality visualization/registration. Second, this paper explicitly addresses practical problems and findings related to software development and multimodality registration/visualization. We hope that this will give colleagues a better understanding in some of these issues based on our experience, including notably our mistakes.     

Interactive multiscale tensor reconstruction for multiresolution volume visualization

Large scale and structurally complex volume datasets from high-resolution 3D imaging devices or computational simulations pose a number of technical challenges for interactive visual analysis. In this paper, we present the first integration of a multiscale volume representation based on tensor approximation within a GPU-accelerated out-of-core multiresolution rendering framework. Specific contributions include (a) a hierarchical brick-tensor decomposition approach for pre-processing large volume data, (b) a GPU accelerated tensor reconstruction implementation exploiting CUDA capabilities, and (c) an effective tensor-specific quantization strategy for reducing data transfer bandwidth and out-of-core memory footprint. Our multiscale representation allows for the extraction, analysis and display of structural features at variable spatial scales, while adaptive level-of-detail rendering methods make it possible to interactively explore large datasets within a constrained memory footprint. The quality and performance of our prototype system is evaluated on large structurally complex datasets, including gigabyte-sized micro-tomographic volumes.     

On the effectiveness of Overview+Detail visualization on mobile devices

Overview+Detail visualization is one of the major approaches to the display of large information spaces on a computer screen. Widely used in desktop applications, its feasibility on mobile devices has been scarcely investigated. This paper first provides a detailed analysis of the literature on Overview+Detail visualization, discussing and comparing the results of desktop and mobile studies to highlight strengths and weaknesses of the approach. The analysis reveals open issues worthy of additional investigation and can provide useful indications to interface designers. Then, the paper presents an experiment that studies unexplored aspects of the design space for mobile interfaces based on the Overview+Detail approach, investigating the effect of letting users manipulate the overview to navigate maps and the effect of highlighting possible objects of interest in the overview to support search tasks. Results of the experiment suggest that both direct manipulation of the overview and highlighting objects of interest in the overview have a positive effect on user performance in terms of the time to complete search tasks on mobile devices, but do not provide specific advantages in terms of recall of the spatial configuration of targets.     

Uncertainty visualization in medical volume rendering using probabilistic animation

Direct Volume Rendering has proved to be an effective visualization method for medical data sets and has reached wide-spread clinical use. The diagnostic exploration, in essence, corresponds to a tissue classification task, which is often complex and time-consuming. Moreover, a major problem is the lack of information on the uncertainty of the classification, which can have dramatic consequences for the diagnosis. In this paper this problem is addressed by proposing animation methods to convey uncertainty in the rendering. The foundation is a probabilistic Transfer Function model which allows for direct user interaction with the classification. The rendering is animated by sampling the probability domain over time, which results in varying appearance for uncertain regions. A particularly promising application of this technique is a "sensitivity lens" applied to focus regions in the data set. The methods have been evaluated by radiologists in a study simulating the clinical task of stenosis assessment, in which the animation technique is shown to outperform traditional rendering in terms of assessment accuracy.     

CAD data visualization on mobile devices using sequential constrained Delaunay triangulation

3D graphic rendering in mobile application programs is becoming increasingly popular with rapid advances in mobile device technology. Current 3D graphic rendering engines for mobile devices do not provide triangulation capabilities for surfaces; therefore, mobile 3D graphic applications have been dealing only with pre-tessellated geometric data. Since triangulation is comparatively expensive in terms of computation, real-time tessellation cannot be easily implemented on mobile devices with limited resources. No research has yet been reported on real-time triangulation on mobile devices.In this paper, we propose a real-time triangulation algorithm for visualization on mobile devices based on sequential constrained Delaunay triangulation. We apply a compact data structure and a sequential triangulation process for visualization of CAD data on mobile devices. In order to achieve a high performance and compact implementation of the triangulation, the nature of the CAD data is fully considered in the computational process. This paper also presents a prototype implementation for a mobile 3D CAD viewer running on a handheld Personal Digital Assistant (PDA).     

Efficient visualization of 3D models on hardware-limited portable devices

Managing the geometry of a 3D scene efficiently is a key aspect of an interactive 3D application. This aspect is more important if we target at portable devices, which have limited hardware capabilities. Developing new means for improving the interaction with 3D content in mobile devices is key. The aim of this work is to present a technique which can manage the level-of-detail of 3D meshes in portable devices. This solution has been devised considering the restrictions that this kind of devices poses. The results section shows how the integration has been successful while obtaining good performance.     

Interactive level-of-detail selection using image-based quality metric for large volume visualization

For large volume visualization, an image-based quality metric is difficult to incorporate for level-of-detail selection and rendering without sacrificing the interactivity. This is because it is usually time-consuming to update view-dependent information as well as to adjust to transfer function changes. In this paper, we introduce an image-based level-of-detail selection algorithm for interactive visualization of large volumetric data. The design of our quality metric is based on an efficient way to evaluate the contribution of multiresolution data blocks to the final image. To ensure real-time update of the quality metric and interactive level-of-detail decisions, we propose a summary table scheme in response to runtime transfer function changes and a GPU-based solution for visibility estimation. Experimental results on large scientific and medical data sets demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of our algorithm     

A streaming-based solution for remote visualization of 3D graphics on mobile devices

Mobile devices such as personal digital assistants, tablet PCs, and cellular phones have greatly enhanced user capability to connect to remote resources. Although a large set of applications is now available bridging the gap between desktop and mobile devices, visualization of complex 3D models is still a task hard to accomplish without specialized hardware. This paper proposes a system where a cluster of PCs, equipped with accelerated graphics cards managed by the Chromium software, is able to handle remote visualization sessions based on MPEG video streaming involving complex 3D models. The proposed framework allows mobile devices such as smart phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and tablet PCs to visualize objects consisting of millions of textured polygons and voxels at a frame rate of 30 fps or more depending on hardware resources at the server side and on multimedia capabilities at the client side. The server is able to concurrently manage multiple clients computing a video stream for each one; resolution and quality of each stream is tailored according to screen resolution and bandwidth of the client. The paper investigates in depth issues related to latency time, bit rate and quality of the generated stream, screen resolutions, as well as frames per second displayed     

Interactive visualization of dependencies

We present an interactive tool for browsing course requisites as a case study of dependency visualization. This tool uses multiple interactive visualizations to allow the user to explore the dependencies between courses. A usability study revealed that the proposed browser provides significant advantages over traditional methods, in terms of learnability, efficiency and user confidence. The results are discussed within a general framework for interactive visualization of dependencies.     

Interactive simulation and visualization

Most researchers who perform data analysis and visualization do so only after everything else is finished, which often means that they don't discover errors invalidating the results of their simulation until post-processing. A better approach would be to improve the integration of simulation and visualization into the entire process so that they can make adjustments along the way. This approach, called computational steering, is the capacity to control all aspects of the computational science pipeline. Recently, several tools and environments for computational steering have begun to emerge. These tools range from those that modify an application's performance characteristics (either by automated means or by user interaction) to those that modify the underlying computational application. A refined problem-solving environment should facilitate everything from algorithm development to application steering. The authors discuss some tools that provide a mechanism to integrate modeling, simulation, data analysis and visualization     

Interactive visualization of state transition systems

A new method for the visualization of state transition systems is presented. Visual information is reduced by clustering nodes, forming a tree structure of related clusters. This structure is visualized in three dimensions with concepts from cone trees and emphasis on symmetry. A number of interactive options are provided as well, allowing the user to superimpose detail information on this tree structure. The resulting visualization enables the user to relate features in the visualization of the state transition graph to semantic concepts in the corresponding process and vice versa     

Interactive visualization of large state spaces

Insight into the global structure of a state space is of great help in the analysis of the underlying process. We advocate the use of visualization for this purpose and present a method to visualize the structure of very large state spaces with millions of nodes. The method uses a clustering based on an equivalence relation to obtain a simplified representation, which is used as a backbone for the display of the entire state space. With this visualization we are able to answer questions about the global structure of a state space that cannot easily be answered by conventional methods. We show this by presenting a number of visualizations of real-world protocols .     

Interactive visualization of three-dimensional magnetic fields

In order to observe the physical values (magnetic flux density and eddy current) in 3D magnetic field analysis, an interactive and highly manipulative visualization system depicting stereo images is intalled in a graphics workstation with high functional graphic processors. The system has the following characteristics:

• 1 An interactive and highly manipulative menu window with many functions: it enables visualization of complex phenomena in a 3D field through observation of various combinations of physical values from various viewpoints.
• 2 Simultaneous display of both magnetic flux density and eddy current by using the appropriate use of two colour display methods for stream lines and distribution maps of density: this function facilitates observation of the mutual relations between two physical values in a 3D field.
• 3 Animations and stereo displays: since they give extremely distinct images, observers can easily understand even highly complex 3D phenomena.

In this paper, the calculation method of density vectors, their display methods, and interactive functions are described. Some examples are also illustrated.