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.     

基于弹性算法的矢量场可视化方法的研究

分析了二维非稳定场的可视化方法（Unsteady flow Line Integral Convolution,UFLIC）,并针对其产生每帧图像费时较多的缺陷,进行了改进。采用弹性算法来控制种子的释放,通过重用、复制相关迹线来减少迹线的积分计算,达到减少生成每帧图像所需的时间的效果。实验证明在生成的图像质量相当的前提下,种子控制算法比UFLIC算法更快。     

Interactive three-dimensional visualization of seismic array data

We present a set of tools developed for the analysis of three-component seismic array data. The first tool involves the application of three-dimensional volume visualization techniques for displaying the results of single-component, array, slowness analysis calculations. This technique has proven useful for analysis of both body waves and surface waves recorded by broadband arrays with a wide range of apertures. The second tool presented is a tool for animation and interactive analysis of three-dimensional particle motions observed by an array of three-component instruments. This tool displays a three-dimensional track of particle motions over a specified time window as recorded by three-component array stations. In order to compare the amplitudes, waveforms, polarization and time delays of signals on different array stations the records are aligned by the time of arrival of a plane wave with the azimuth and the apparent slowness determined from two-dimensional semblance analysis. This technique provides an improved understanding of the spatial variability of seismic wave fields that is not possible with conventional, two-dimensional graphics.     

Topological segmentation in three-dimensional vector fields

We present a new method for topological segmentation in steady three-dimensional vector fields. Depending on desired properties, the algorithm replaces the original vector field by a derived segmented data set, which is utilized to produce separating surfaces in the vector field. We define the concept of a segmented data set, develop methods that produce the segmented data by sampling the vector field with streamlines, and describe algorithms that generate the separating surfaces. This method is applied to generate local separatrices in the field, defined by a movable boundary region placed in the field. The resulting partitions can be visualized using standard techniques for a visualization of a vector field at a higher level of abstraction.     

改进的用于三维矢量场可视化的VolumeLIC算法

用于三维矢量场可视化的VolumeLIC算法比较耗时,而且生成的图像无法洞察场的内部信息,场的方向性也不明显。针对以上缺点,对原始VolumeLIC算法做了改进,它不同于以往的算法要计算整个矢量场,而是选取场中的部分点作为种子点,从这些点出发积分生成流线,对这些线上的点用VolumeLIC算法生成最终图像。实验结果表明,改进后的算法大幅提高了运算速度,并且空间方向感明显增强。     

Strategies for the visualization of multiple 2D vector fields

Strategies for effectively visualizing colocated 2D vector fields enable understanding of key physical structures of one vector field within the context of a related vector field. This article describes the range of effects possible by combining several existing flow visualization techniques for analyzing multiple vector fields. Our present efforts focus primarily on the investigation of methods for effectively visualizing multiple fields defined over a 2D domain; the problem of effectively visualizing multiple fields defined over a 3D domain is even more challenging, and an important area for future work.     

Flow charts: visualization of vector fields on arbitrary surfaces

We introduce a novel flow visualization method called Flow Charts, which uses a texture atlas approach for the visualization of flows defined over curved surfaces. In this scheme the surface and its associated flow are segmented into overlapping patches which are then parameterized and packed in the texture domain. This scheme allows accurate particle advection across multiple charts in the texture domain, providing a flexible framework that supports various flow visualization techniques. The use of surface parameterization enables flow visualization techniques requiring the global view of the surface over long time spans, such as Unsteady Flow LIC (UFLIC), particle-based Unsteady Flow Advection-Convolution (UFAC), or dye advection. It also prevents visual artifacts normally associated with view-dependent methods. Represented as textures, Flow Charts can be naturally integrated into GPU flow visualization techniques for interactive performance.     

Interactive comparison of scalar fields based on largest contours with applications to flow visualization

Understanding fluid flow data, especially vortices, is still a challenging task. Sophisticated visualization tools help to gain insight. In this paper, we present a novel approach for the interactive comparison of scalar fields using isosurfaces, and its application to fluid flow datasets. Features in two scalar fields are defined by largest contour segmentation after topological simplification. These features are matched using a volumetric similarity measure based on spatial overlap of individual features. The relationships defined by this similarity measure are ranked and presented in a thumbnail gallery of feature pairs and a graph representation showing all relationships between individual contours. Additionally, linked views of the contour trees are provided to ease navigation. The main render view shows the selected features overlapping each other. Thus, by displaying individual features and their relationships in a structured fashion, we enable exploratory visualization of correlations between similar structures in two scalar fields. We demonstrate the utility of our approach by applying it to a number of complex fluid flow datasets, where the emphasis is put on the comparison of vortex related scalar quantities.     

Constrained motion control using vector potential fields

Discusses the generation of a control signal that would instruct the actuators of a robotics manipulator to drive motion along a safe and well-behaved path to a desired target. The proposed concept of navigation control along with the tools necessary for its construction achieve this goal. The most significant tool is the artificial vector potential field which shows a better ability to steer motion than does a scalar potential field. The synthesis procedure emphasizes flexibility so that the effort needed to modify the control is commensurate with the change in the geometry of the workspace. Theoretical development along with simulation results are provided     

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.     

Vibration control for a nonlinear three-dimensional flexible manipulator trajectory tracking

This paper proposes an innovative approach to the trajectory tracking in three-dimensional space and vibration control problems in the presence of a nonlinear three-dimensional flexible manipulator based on the partial differential equation model. Unlike two-dimensional plane, we select spherical coordinates to describe the position of the end point in three-dimensional space. This novel approach makes it possible to realise the trajectory tracking by controlling the two angles in spherical coordinates, meanwhile, a vibration control scheme is proposed to restrain vibrations. In addition, the existence and uniqueness of solutions are demonstrated. Finally, the performance of the desired trajectory tracking, the proposed vibration control scheme and their convergence properties are demonstrated by numerical simulations.     

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 .     

三维地形可视化技术研究

为了获得较好的三维可视化效果,在对地形数据组织和实时绘制技术进行研究和实验的基础上,实现了基于四叉树结构的地形模型的连续多分辨率渲染;在考虑视点和地形粗糙度的基础上,设计了一种合理的节点评价系统;提出了一种快速自适应的三角网剖分方法,有效消除了不同分辨率节点间的裂缝。实验结果表明,在保证地形真实感的前提下,该技术实现三维地形显示可以获得较好的图形质量和显示速度。     

Interactive scientific visualization of fluid flow

Examples of scientific visualization techniques used for the interactive exploration of very large data sets from supercomputer simulations of fluid flow are presented. Interactive rendering of images from simulations of grids of 2 million or more computational zones are required to drive high-end graphics workstations to their limits with 2-D data. The author presents one such image and discusses interactive steering of 2-D flow simulations, a phenomenon now possible with grids of half a million computational zones. He uses a simulation of compressible turbulence on a grid of 134 million computational zones to set the scale for discussing interactive 3-D visualization techniques. A concept for a gigapixel-per-second video wall, or gigawall, which could be built with present technology to meet the demands of interactive visualization of the data sets that will be produced by the next generation of supercomputers, is discussed     

An approach to exascale visualization: Interactive viewing of in-situ visualization

In the coming era of exascale supercomputing, in-situ visualization will be a crucial approach for reducing the output data size. A problem of in-situ visualization is that it loses interactivity if a steering method is not adopted. In this paper, we propose a new method for the interactive analysis of in-situ visualization images produced by a batch simulation job. A key idea is to apply numerous (thousands to millions) in-situ visualizations simultaneously. The viewer then analyzes the image database interactively during postprocessing. If each movie can be compressed to 100 MB, one million movies will only require 100 TB, which is smaller than the size of the raw numerical data in exascale supercomputing. We performed a feasibility study using the proposed method. Multiple movie files were produced by a simulation and they were analyzed using a specially designed movie player. The user could change the viewing angle, the visualization method, and the parameters interactively by retrieving an appropriate sequence of images from the movie dataset.     

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 3D visualization of optical phenomena

Each year at colleges and universities nationwide, some 10,000 students take a course on optics, typically through a physics department. The method of instruction has changed very little in the past 40 years, and many of the textbook illustrations have remained essentially the same during this time. In particular, the illustrations rely heavily on line drawings and 2D graphs. Certain key concepts in optics possess fundamentally 3D aspects, which instructors typically demonstrate in a classroom laboratory. Currently, several computer-assisted instructional modules support teaching optics by visualizing optical phenomena. We created interactive 3D graphical modules for visualizing optical phenomena by applying 3D visualization techniques to instructional courseware     

Interactive visualization and analysis of transitional flow

A stand-alone visualization application has been developed by a multi-disciplinary, collaborative team with the sole purpose of creating an interactive exploration environment allowing turbulent flow researchers to experiment and validate hypotheses using visualization. This system has specific optimizations made in data management, caching computations, and visualization allowing for the interactive exploration of datasets on the order of 1TB in size. Using this application, the user (co-author Calo) is able to interactively visualize and analyze all regions of a transitional flow volume, including the laminar, transitional and fully turbulent regions. The underlying goal of the visualizations produced from these transitional flow simulations is to localize turbulent spots in the laminar region of the boundary layer, determine under which conditions they form, and follow their evolution. The initiation of turbulent spots, which ultimately lead to full turbulence, was located via a proposed feature detection condition and verified by experimental results. The conditions under which these turbulent spots form and coalesce are validated and presented.     

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