World lines

In this paper we present World Lines as a novel interactive visualization that provides complete control over multiple heterogeneous simulation runs. In many application areas, decisions can only be made by exploring alternative scenarios. The goal of the suggested approach is to support users in this decision making process. In this setting, the data domain is extended to a set of alternative worlds where only one outcome will actually happen. World Lines integrate simulation, visualization and computational steering into a single unified system that is capable of dealing with the extended solution space. World Lines represent simulation runs as causally connected tracks that share a common time axis. This setup enables users to interfere and add new information quickly. A World Line is introduced as a visual combination of user events and their effects in order to present a possible future. To quickly find the most attractive outcome, we suggest World Lines as the governing component in a system of multiple linked views and a simulation component. World Lines employ linking and brushing to enable comparative visual analysis of multiple simulations in linked views. Analysis results can be mapped to various visual variables that World Lines provide in order to highlight the most compelling solutions. To demonstrate this technique we present a flooding scenario and show the usefulness of the integrated approach to support informed decision making.     

智能可视化与可视分析

可视化与可视分析已成为众多领域中结合人类智能与机器智能协同理解、分析数据的常见手段。人工智能可以通过对大数据的学习分析提高数据质量,捕捉关键信息,并选取最有效的视觉呈现方式,从而使用户更快、更准确、更全面地从可视化中理解数据。利用人工智能方法,交互式可视化系统也能更好地学习用户习惯及用户意图,推荐符合用户需求的可视化形式、交互操作和数据特征,从而降低用户探索的学习及时间成本,提高交互分析的效率。人工智能方法在可视化中的应用受到了极大关注,产生了大量学术成果。本文从最新工作出发,探讨人工智能在可视化流程的关键步骤中的作用。包括如何智能地表示和管理数据、如何辅助用户快速创建和定制可视化、如何通过人工智能扩展交互手段及提高交互效率、如何借助人工智能辅助数据的交互分析等。具体而言,本文详细梳理每个步骤中需要完成的任务及解决思路,介绍相应的人工智能方法（如深度网络结构）,并以图表数据为例介绍智能可视化与可视分析的应用,最后讨论智能可视化方法的发展趋势,展望未来的研究方向及应用场景。     

数值模拟并行程序的跟踪与可视化

采用并行计算的手段,数值模拟程序可以在高性能计算环境下获得数值求解加速,但在短时间内输出的大量、多块的计算结果,也为研究者的数据分析造成了困难。为此,本文介绍了一个针对并行计算程序的远程跟踪可视化系统,它适合运行于并行分布式计算环境,用户只需简单改造数值程序,即可通过远程终端对运行期的程序进行自动计算跟踪和交互可视化,而跟踪系统的优化设计则使数值程序的远程交互延迟得到有效控制。     

基于增强现实的骨缺损修复系统原型设计

结合现有骨支架设计系统和增强现实交互技术,提出一种用于骨缺损修复手术的辅助规划方法与检查系统框架。对其中的显示合成与交互方式进行阐述,并以此为基础开发原型系统,其主要目的是在完成骨支架结构模型设计后,帮助临床医生在快速成形制作的颅骨模型上检验骨支架设计的合理性,完成手术的规划和仿真过程。     

Rolling the dice: multidimensional visual exploration using scatterplot matrix navigation

Scatterplots remain one of the most popular and widely-used visual representations for multidimensional data due to their simplicity, familiarity and visual clarity, even if they lack some of the flexibility and visual expressiveness of newer multidimensional visualization techniques. This paper presents new interactive methods to explore multidimensional data using scatterplots. This exploration is performed using a matrix of scatterplots that gives an overview of the possible configurations, thumbnails of the scatterplots, and support for interactive navigation in the multidimensional space. Transitions between scatterplots are performed as animated rotations in 3D space, somewhat akin to rolling dice. Users can iteratively build queries using bounding volumes in the dataset, sculpting the query from different viewpoints to become more and more refined. Furthermore, the dimensions in the navigation space can be reordered, manually or automatically, to highlight salient correlations and differences among them. An example scenario presents the interaction techniques supporting smooth and effortless visual exploration of multidimensional datasets.     

Visualizing parallel programs and performance

Performance visualization uses graphical display techniques to analyze performance data and improve understanding of complex performance phenomena. Current parallel performance visualizations are predominantly two-dimensional. A primary goal of our work is to develop new methods for rapidly prototyping multidimensional performance visualizations. By applying the tools of scientific visualization, we can prototype these next-generation displays for performance visualization-if not implement them as end user tools-using existing software products and graphical techniques that physicists, oceanographers, and meteorologists have used for several years     

DaisyViz: A model-based user interface toolkit for interactive information visualization systems

While information visualization technologies have transformed our life and work, designing information visualization systems still faces challenges. Non-expert users or end-users need toolkits that allow for rapid design and prototyping, along with supporting unified data structures suitable for different data types (e.g., tree, network, temporal, and multi-dimensional data), various visualization, interaction tasks. To address these issues, we designed DaisyViz, a model-based user interface toolkit, which enables end-users to rapidly develop domain-specific information visualization applications without traditional programming. DaisyViz is based on a user interface model for information (UIMI), which includes three declarative models: data model, visualization model, and control model. In the development process, a user first constructs a UIMI with interactive visual tools. The results of the UIMI are then parsed to generate a prototype system automatically. In this paper, we discuss the concept of UIMI, describe the architecture of DaisyViz, and show how to use DaisyViz to build an information visualization system. We also present a usability study of DaisyViz we conducted. Our findings indicate DaisyViz is an effective toolkit to help end-users build interactive information visualization systems.     

An atmospheric visual analysis and exploration system

Meteorological research involves the analysis of multi-field, multi-scale, and multi-source data sets. In order to better understand these data sets, models and measurements at different resolutions must be analyzed. Unfortunately, traditional atmospheric visualization systems only provide tools to view a limited number of variables and small segments of the data. These tools are often restricted to two-dimensional contour or vector plots or three-dimensional isosurfaces. The meteorologist must mentally synthesize the data from multiple plots to glean the information needed to produce a coherent picture of the weather phenomenon of interest. In order to provide better tools to meteorologists and reduce system limitations, we have designed an integrated atmospheric visual analysis and exploration system for interactive analysis of weather data sets. Our system allows for the integrated visualization of 1D, 2D, and 3D atmospheric data sets in common meteorological grid structures and utilizes a variety of rendering techniques. These tools provide meteorologists with new abilities to analyze their data and answer questions on regions of interest, ranging from physics-based atmospheric rendering to illustrative rendering containing particles and glyphs. In this paper, we will discuss the use and performance of our visual analysis for two important meteorological applications. The first application is warm rain formation in small cumulus clouds. Here, our three-dimensional, interactive visualization of modeled drop trajectories within spatially correlated fields from a cloud simulation has provided researchers with new insight. Our second application is improving and validating severe storm models, specifically the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model. This is done through correlative visualization of WRF model and experimental Doppler storm data.     

Value and relation display: interactive visual exploration of large data sets with hundreds of dimensions

Few existing visualization systems can handle large data sets with hundreds of dimensions, since high-dimensional data sets cause clutter on the display and large response time in interactive exploration. In this paper, we present a significantly improved multidimensional visualization approach named Value and Relation (VaR) display that allows users to effectively and efficiently explore large data sets with several hundred dimensions. In the VaR display, data values and dimension relationships are explicitly visualized in the same display by using dimension glyphs to explicitly represent values in dimensions and glyph layout to explicitly convey dimension relationships. In particular, pixel-oriented techniques and density-based scatterplots are used to create dimension glyphs to convey values. Multidimensional scaling, Jigsaw map hierarchy visualization techniques, and an animation metaphor named Rainfall are used to convey relationships among dimensions. A rich set of interaction tools has been provided to allow users to interactively detect patterns of interest in the VaR display. A prototype of the VaR display has been fully implemented. The case studies presented in this paper show how the prototype supports interactive exploration of data sets of several hundred dimensions. A user study evaluating the prototype is also reported in this paper     

A virtual environment simulator for mechanical system dynamics with online interactive control

Virtual prototyping is an effective tool in the development of mechanical product. Physically accurate simulation of multi-body mechanical system enables designers to investigate, explore, and experience the performance and behavior of an evolving product and thus reduce the number of physical prototypes needed. For the sake of better support for designers to manipulate the simulation, we have developed a dynamic simulation package of mechanical system, which provides an interactive control during the simulation process. The package incorporates physical behaviors and dynamic interactions by dynamics based modeling approach in multi-body mechanical system. In the package, user’s actions (e.g., loading a model, picking and dragging objects, steering objects during simulation process, etc.) are based on an ATN task management, and a multi-modal interface is provided which supports 2D desktop devices and 3D VR devices. The main contribution of the simulator is providing supports that allow users’ interactive manipulation in the simulation loop. During the simulation process, users can modify the constraints between components, apply force/torque to interested components and change the parameters of forces/torques. The simulator automatically updates the dynamic model of the mechanical system in real time, and then continuously simulates the behavior of the model under the current condition in the loop. An example of dynamic simulation of a vehicle is implemented and the simulation result is compared to that of ADAMS to verify the correctness and accuracy of the simulator. With the real-time interaction, solution and visualization of simulation model, the package affords better support for designers to participate in the simulation interactively and effectively.     

JAPE: A Prototyping System for Collaborative Virtual Environments

We present JAPE, a flexible prototyping system to support the design of a new advanced collaborative virtual environment. We describe the utilization of different hard- and software components to quickly build a flexible, yet powerful test bed for application and algorithm development. These components include a 3-D rendering toolkit, live video acquisition, speech transmission, and the control of tracking and interaction devices. To facilitate the simultaneous design of applications and algorithms that take advantage of unique features of new collaborative virtual environments, we provide the developer with a flexible prototyping toolkit which emulates the functionality of the final system. The applicability of JAPE is demonstrated with several prototype applications and algorithms.     

A virtual prototyping system for rapid product development

This paper describes a virtual prototyping (VP) system that integrates virtual reality with rapid prototyping (RP) to create virtual or digital prototypes to facilitate product development. The proposed VP system incorporates two new simulation methodologies, namely the dexel-based and the layer-based fabrication approaches, to simulate the powder-based and the laminated sheet-based RP processes, respectively. The dexel-based approach deposits arrays of solid strips to form a layer, while the layer-based approach directly forms a complete layer by extruding the slice contours. The layer is subsequently stacked up to fabricate a virtual prototype. The simulation approaches resemble the physical fabrication processes of most RP systems, and are therefore capable of accurately representing the geometrical characteristics of prototypes. In addition to numerical quantification of the simulation results, the system also provides stereoscopic visualisation of the product design and its prototype for detailed analyses. Indeed, the original product design may be superimposed on its virtual prototype, so that areas with dimensional errors beyond design limits may be clearly highlighted to facilitate point-to-point analysis of the surface texture and the dimensional accuracy of the prototype. Hence, the key control parameters of an RP process, such as part orientation, layer thickness and hatch space, may be effectively tuned up for optimal fabrication of physical prototypes in subsequent product development. Furthermore, the virtual prototypes can be transmitted via the Internet to customers to facilitate global manufacturing. As a result, both the lead-time and the product development costs can be significantly reduced.     

Visualization exploration and encapsulation via a spreadsheet-likeinterface

Exploring complex, very large data sets requires interfaces to present and navigate through the visualization of the data. Two types of audience benefit from such coherent organization and representation: first, the user of the visualization system can examine and evaluate their data more efficiently; second, collaborators or reviewers can quickly understand and extend the visualization. The needs of these two groups are addressed by the spreadsheet-like interface described in this paper. The interface represents a 2D window in a multidimensional visualization parameter space. Data is explored by navigating this space via the interface. The visualization space is presented to the user in a manner that clearly identifies which parameters correspond to which visualized result. Operations defined on this space can be applied which generate new parameters or results. Combined with a general-purpose interpreter, these functions can be utilized to quickly extract desired results. Finally, by encapsulating the visualization process, redundant exploration is eliminated and collaboration is facilitated. The efficacy of this novel interface is demonstrated through examples using a variety of data sets in different domains     

Computer-aided prototyping for ASIC-based systems

The use of computer-aided prototyping (CAP) with the RPM Emulation System is described. RPM creates a hardware functional prototype from an ASIC or full-custom chip netlist. It reads the chip netlist and then converts the chip design gates into a prototype design. It then synthesizes the prototype design, obtaining the information it needs to configure the reprogrammable hardware, primarily with partitioning and placement and routing technology. Finally, it physically implements the prototype design by electronically configuring the reprogrammable hardware. RPM includes embedded tools for interactive debugging with access to any internal design node, and a facility for handling quick incremental changes to the design. It is argued that other techniques such as silicon prototyping and manual prototyping are not practical; silicon has a poor debugging ability, and manual prototyping cannot handle large designs. The practical benefits of CAP are discussed     

Provenance and annotation for visual exploration systems

Exploring data using visualization systems has been shown to be an extremely powerful technique. However, one of the challenges with such systems is an inability to completely support the knowledge discovery process. More than simply looking at data, users will make a semipermanent record of their visualizations by printing out a hard copy. Subsequently, users will mark and annotate these static representations, either for dissemination purposes or to augment their personal memory of what was witnessed. In this paper, we present a model for recording the history of user explorations in visualization environments, augmented with the capability for users to annotate their explorations. A prototype system is used to demonstrate how this provenance information can be recalled and shared. The prototype system generates interactive visualizations of the provenance data using a spatio-temporal technique. Beyond the technical details of our model and prototype, results from a controlled experiment that explores how different history mechanisms impact problem solving in visualization environments are presented     

From early virtual garment simulation to interactive fashion design

Virtual garment design and simulation involves a combination of a large range of techniques, involving mechanical simulation, collision detection, and user interface techniques for creating garments. Here, we perform an extensive review of the evolution of these techniques made in the last decade to bring virtual garments to the reach of computer applications not only aimed at graphics, but also at CAD techniques for the garment industry.As a result of the advances in the developments of virtual garment simulation technologies, we then detail a framework which fits the needs of the garment industry of virtual garment design and prototyping, concentrating on interactive design, simulation and visualization features. The framework integrates innovative tools aimed towards efficiency and quality in the process of garment design and prototyping, taking advantage of state-of-the-art algorithms from the field of mechanical simulation, animation and rendering.     

面向不精确与非量值信息的定性数字样机

为了解决定量仿真不能很好利用系统中的不精确和非量值信息的问题,将Kuipers定性仿真理论与数字样机技术相结合,使数字样机能够使用定性与定量信息.提出了定性数字样机的概念,并以四元组形式对定性数字样机进行定义,建立定性数字样机的概念框架.根据定性数字样机特性选择Prolog语言和面向对象的知识表示方法,对定性数字样机系统的知识描述及系统框架的建立进行了阐述.建立了定性数字样机的知识结构表示框架与结构模型,通过定性仿真的步骤与方法,对定性数字样机进行了仿真验证,通过实例说明了使用定性数字样机进行系统仿真的可行性.     

Using microcomputers to prototype cim systems

Microcomputer prototyping is a systems analysis methodology that enables engineers to place limited scope, working models of manufacturing and information control systems into production without the extensive expertise and involvement of data processing professionals. With a prototype, a design engineer can work directly with the user to develop functions, input screens, and report output that satisfies the user. Changes can be incorporated rapidly and quickly evaluated. This is made possible by the flexible use of microcomputers and the many tools available for development. When a prototype is complete, the resulting system demonstrates much of the function required by a fully implemented system, providing a foundation for the final system specification.     

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     

Automatically building customized circuit-based simulation models using symbolic computing

Nowadays, most scientists and engineers rely on computer simulations to analyze, design, and prototype complex systems. Scientific and engineering system models are implemented in a variety of simulation environments; however, limited model libraries are often provided to users who are compelled to create their own customized models. Developing customized simulation models is a time-consuming and error-prone task which requires software developer skills. The difficulty of creating customized models presents the need for user-friendly tools that assist users in their code development process. This paper describes a tool named RCMAG that automatically builds customized models for the Virtual Test Bed (VTB) [http://vtb.engr.sc.edu/, The Virtual Test Bed Overview, Architecture, and Downloads] simulation environment. VTB is an interactive software system that provides a problem-solving environment (PSE) for simulation, prototyping, and advanced visualization of large-scale multi-disciplinary systems. VTB complies with a simulation standard named VHDL-AMS to enforce natural (circuit), signal, and data coupling between entities from diverse disciplines. The PSE tool RCMAG automatically builds naturally coupled or circuit-based VTB entities from input data provided by the user. RCMAG accepts both numeric and symbolic input data from the user, manages it to create code, and releases the compiled model object, which is ready to be added to the VTB model library and be used in a simulation.