CPS 533 Scientific Visualization

Wensheng Shen

Department of Computational ScienceSUNY Brockport

Chapter 1: Introduction

What is visualization?Why visualization?Difference and similarity: imaging, computer graphics, and visualizationTopics in this course

1.1 What is visualization

Visualization is the process or format that makes the information visible.Based on this definition, is printed text, or handwriting a kind of visualization? How about movies, video products?

Terminologies of visualization

Data visualization

Scientific visualization Information visualization

ScienceEngineering

World wide webBusiness

Hyper-text documents

Examples of visualization

Modern medicine: photo-graphic X-ray, X-ray Computed Tomography (CT), and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI)

(to reconstruct the slice-planes into a volume)

Examples of visualization

Entertainment industry: movie and television products. Typical examples, Jurassic Park, Ice Age, Happy Feet. Engineering and scientific community: fluid flow, ballistic trajectories, structural mechanics, weather report.

Techniques of visualization

Tensor fieldVectorIso-surfaceContour CurveLine segmentMorphing: a smooth blending of one object into another object.

Data source of visualization

Experimental measurementNumerical simulationTheoretical predictionStatistic data, population, transactions in stock exchanges

1.2 Why visualization

To extract important information from a very large amount of dataTo make use of the human vision system, medical image data, weather forecast, describe a class roomTo reduce production cost, computer simulation of moving car, flying airplane, sailing boat

1.3 Difference and similarity: imaging processing, computer graphics, and visualization

Imaging processing: the study of 2D pictures and imagesComputer graphics: the process of creating 2D and 3D images using a computerVisualization: the process of visualizing data in the form of image

Visualization process

Data acquisition

Data transformation

Data mapping Display

Measurement

Numerical simulation

1.4 What is covered in this course

Fundamental concepts of computer graphicsFundamental concepts of visualizationProgram languages: C++ and Tcl/TkBasic data representation: structure, cell, and data attributesApplications: real world visualization

What can you learn from this course

The procedures and methods in visualizationHow to visualize scientific data using vtkHow to visualize data of your own interestHow to develop your GUI interface for data input and output

Graphs are one kind of visualization

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http://www-unix.mcs.anl.gov/~disz/cs-341/colorvis/index.htm

Large Scale Virtual Reality

The CAVE

Immersadesk

Projection Wall

http://www-unix.mcs.anl.gov/~disz/cs-341/colorvis/index.htm

More Examples

Surface Rendering with vTKVolume Rendering withSGI Infinite Reality Engine

http://www-unix.mcs.anl.gov/~disz/cs-341/colorvis/index.htm

Even More Examples:

Astro Physics

http://www-unix.mcs.anl.gov/~disz/cs-341/colorvis/index.htm

Some examples

Structures, Fluids and Fields

Advanced Imaging and Data Management

Nuclear, Quantum, and Molecular Modeling

http://www-unix.mcs.anl.gov/~disz/cs-341/colorvis/index.htm