IEEE VIS Publication Dataset

Volume warping, a technique for deforming sampled volumetric data using B-splines that is related to image warping and to the free-form deformations of T.W. Sederberg and S.R. Parry (1986) and S. Coquillart (1990), is presented. The process is accelerated to near-real-time speed, and the compromises that are made to effect such speeds are explained. This technique expands the repertoire of volumetric modeling techniques and can be applied to any form of volumetric data

A mathematical data model for scientific visualization that is based on the mathematics of fiber bundles is presented. Previous results are extended to the case of piecewise field representations (associated with grid-based data representations), and a general mathematical model for piecewise representations of fields on irregular grids is presented. The various types of regularity that can be found in computational grids and techniques for compact field representation based on each form of regularity are discussed. These techniques can be combined to obtain efficient methods for representing fields on grids with various regular or partially regular structures

The use of ray casting in volume rendering and its uses and advantages over surface rendering algorithms are discussed. Various adaptive algorithms that attempt to overcome its problem of high computational cost by taking advantage of image coherency and the bandlimited nature of volume data are described. A method of subdividing the image plane with isosceles triangles, instead of quadrants as is usually done is proposed. It results in fewer rays being fired without sacrificing image quality. A brief theoretical analysis of the algorithm in comparison with other methods is given

Methods for displaying scientific data using textures and raster operations rather than geometric techniques are described. The flexibility and simplicity of raster operations allow a greater choice of visualization techniques with only a small set of basic operations. In addition, texture mapping techniques that allow the representation of several variables simultaneously, without a high degree of clutter, are shown. The combination of traditional geometric techniques, image composition techniques, and image rendering techniques can be integrated into a single framework for the display of scientific data. A system for generating and operating on textures and images for the purposes of scientific visualization is presented. To illustrate its advantage, the development of bump maps for vector filters and contour lines is demonstrated

A description is given of a software system, TOPO, that numerically analyzes and graphically displays topological aspects of a three-dimensional vector field, v, to produce a single, relatively simple picture that characterizes v. The topology of v considered consists of its critical points (where v=0), their invariant manifolds, and the integral curves connecting these invariant manifolds. The field in the neighborhood of each critical point is approximated by the Taylor expansion. The coefficients of the first nonzero term of the Taylor expansion around a critical point are the 3×3 matrix ?v. Critical points are classified by examining ?v's eigenvalues. The eigenvectors of ?v span the invariant manifolds of the linearized field around a critical point. Curves integrated from initial points on the eigenvectors a small distance from a critical point connect with other critical points (or the boundary) to complete the topology. One class of critical surfaces that is important in computational fluid dynamics is analyzed.

The authors have achieved rates as high as 15 frames per second for interactive direct visualization of 3D data by trading some function for speed, while volume rendering with a full complement of ramp classification capabilities is performed at 1.4 frames per second. These speeds have made the combination of region selection with volume rendering practical for the first time. Semantic-driven selection, rather than geometric clipping, has proved to be a natural means of interacting with 3D data. Internal organs in medical data or other regions of interest can be built from preprocessed region primitives. The resulting combined system has been applied to real 3D medical data with encouraging results

Reconstruction of 3D scenes using data from an acoustic imaging sonar is addressed. The acoustic lens is described, and issues concerning underwater 3D scene reconstruction from the lens data are examined. Two methods for visualizing objects in an acoustic snapshot of the ocean are discussed: mathematical morphology and a synthesis of 3D digital imaging with volume rendering

The author explores some of the primary problems that face designers of hardware and software for visualization who are attempting to create tools that will be used and widely accepted. He describes possible solutions to some of these challenges that have been incorporated into Fieldview, a commercial tool for increasing engineering productivity in computational fluid dynamics (CFD)

Addresses 3D visualization techniques now being developed that are specific to coarse, irregular grid fields such as finite-element models. These include direct-generation of isovalues from finite elements, display of 3D gradient and tensor quantities, and the display of multiple states of behavior, items common to general 3D visualization, but with specific algorithmic and implementation issues in finite element analysis

A technique that harnesses color and texture perception to create integrated displays of 2D image-like multiparameter distributions is presented. The power of the technique is demonstrated by an example of a synthesized dataset and compared with several other proposed techniques. The nature of studies that are required to measure objectively and accurately the effectiveness of such displays is discussed

Addresses the issue of the use of color, as compared to monochromatic displays, in visualization. The paper presents the advantages and disadvantages of color displays, and those of monochromic displays, identifies situations where color can improve the representation, those where it will degrade it, and suggest guidelines on how (and when) to use color

A computer was used to help study the packing of equal spheres in dimension four and higher. A candidate of the densest packing in 4-space is described. The configuration of 24 spheres touching a central sphere in this packing is shown to be rigid, unlike the analog in 3-space, in which the spheres can slide past each other. A system for interactively manipulating and visualizing such configurations is described. The Voronoi cell for a sphere is the set of points closer to its center than to any other sphere center in the packing. The packing density is the ratio of a sphere's volume to the average of the volumes of the Voronoi cells. A method of constructing Voronoi cells and computing their volumes that works in any dimension is presented. Examples of Voronoi cell volumes are given

Partial automation of the task of designing graphical displays that effectively depict the data to be visualized through cooperative computer-aided design (CCAD) is described. This paradigm combines the strengths of manual and automated design by interspersing guiding design operations by the human user with the exploration of design alternatives by the computer. The approach is demonstrated in the context of the IVE design system, a CCAD environment for the design of scientific visualizations using a set of design rules that combine primitive visualization components in different ways. These alternatives are presented graphically to the user, who can browse through them, select the most promising visualization, and refine it manually

The authors maintain that of particular importance for visualization excellence is an understanding of effective deictic facilities, especially new techniques made possible by computation. They explain what deixis is and why it is fundamental to visualization and they analyze some of the requirements for effective deixis in the context of emergent visualization technology

The benefits of using a distributed scientific visualization tool in the field of acoustic modeling are demonstrated. A user-friendly interface was developed under SunView. A Remote Procedure Call was used for transparent data transfer between a CRAY X-MP/28 and Sun 4 workstation. PV-WAVE, a high-level graphics package, was used to visualize the results

A collaboration designed to demonstrate the possibilities of access to supercomputers via the high-speed wide-area networks in order to carry out sophisticated, interactive visualization on local workstations is described. The test case was visualization of 3D magnetic resonance imaging data, with a Vray performing surface reconstruction to generate a set of triangles. The resulting geometric data was sent to a local workstation to be rendered, with minor enhancements to current network protocols enabling effective utilization of the 45 Mb bandwidth of a T3-based network

An algorithm based on mathematical morphology, image processing, and volume rendering has been developed to enhance the visual perception of definite and abstract structures embedded in multidimensional data undergoing visualization. This erosion procedure enhances the depth and shape perception of structures present in the data beyond the perception facilitated by shading and contrasting colors alone. The utility of this algorithm is demonstrated for medical imaging (positron emission tomography) and climate (sea surface temperature) data. The resulting information is displayed in stereo

The author describes the interaction between computer graphics students from the computer science department at Rochester Institute of technology and faculty from various disciplines, in their attempts to utilize state-of-the-art computer graphics techniques for the visualization of physical systems. The structure of a computer graphics course designed to act as the vehicle for this interaction is also described

An algorithm for rendering of orthographic views of volume data on data-parallel computer architectures is described. In particular, the problem or rotating the volume in regard to the communication overhead associated with finely distributed memory is analyzed. An earlier technique (shear decomposition) is extended to 3D, and it is shown how this can be mapped onto a data-parallel architecture using only grid communication during the resampling associated with the rotation. The rendering uses efficient parallel computation constructs that allow one to use sophisticated shading models and still maintain high-speed throughout. This algorithm has been implemented on the connection machine and is used in an interactive volume-rendering application, with multiple frames-per-second performance

Television coverage of golf fails to bring the viewer an appreciation of the complex topography of a golf green and how that topography affects the putting of golf balls. A computer graphics simulation that enhances the viewer's perception of these features using shaded polygonal models of the actual golf green used in tournaments is presented. Mathematical modeling of the golf ball's trajectory on its way toward the hole further enhances viewer understanding. A putting difficulty map assesses the relative difficulty of putting from each location on the green to a given pin position. The object-oriented system is written in C and runs on a variety of 3D graphics workstations. As an experiment, the system was used at a professional golf tournament and correctly simulated all putts during the final round