An Architecture for Incorporating Interactive Visualizations Into Scientific Simulations
- Paper number
IAC-06-D1.P.1.06
- Author
Mr. Ravishankar Mathur, The University of Texas at Austin, United States
- Coauthor
Dr. Cesar Ocampo, The University of Texas at Austin, United States
- Year
2006
- Abstract
As scientific simulations get increasingly complex, so do the requirements of how to deal with the data that is produced. Few scientists and engineers today are satisfied with just looking at streams of numbers; we require graphical visualizations to better understand their meaning. The traditional method of visualization has been to save the simulation's results to a file, then load that file up in another program (eg MATLAB, Microsoft Excel, etc...) for post-processing. Another method of handling visualization may involve using primitive graphics packages to generate static plots during the simulation. However, these graphics packages are few and far between, and the results do not live up the abilities of modern day computers. Although post-processing data to produce visualizations may be sufficient for some simple simulations, a modern simulation designer usually wants more out of their visualization. Perhaps they want the visualization to be a 3D plot of an interplanetary trajectory, with the ability to zoom, pan, and rotate the scene interactively. Until now, doing so has required the designer to become adept at computer graphics, which is a feat that almost no scientist or engineer has the time to attempt. The research undertaken here introduces an architecture by which a simulation programmer can easily add interactive 3D visualizations to their simulations. This architecture has several benefits over existing visualization packages, the biggest one being that no knowledge of computer graphics is required to use the architecture in one's own simulations. Another benefit is that the resulting visualization is interactive by default, without any extra programming required on the part of the simulation designer. This paper begins by introducing the theory behind how scientific simulations want to visualize data. Common aspects of all simulations are identified, and are used to develop a common "visualization language" that can be used by any simulation designer to specify what they want to visualize. The second part of the paper specifies a particular implementation of this visualization language, called OpenFrames. OpenFrames is a library of functions that can be called from C, C++, or FORTRAN, and automatically implements the visualization specified by the designer. Finally, a recently developed trajectory optimization program will be shown that uses OpenFrames to visualize it's results. This application demonstrates the ease with which advanced graphics can be incorporated into one's own simulations.
- Abstract document
- Manuscript document
IAC-06-D1.P.1.06.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).
To get the manuscript, please contact IAF Secretariat.