Hands-On Analysis and Illustration: Interactive Exploratory Visualization of Vector Fields (original) (raw)

Interactive Exploratory Visualization of 2D Vector Fields

Computer Graphics …, 2008

In this paper we present several techniques to interactively explore representations of 2D vector fields. Through a set of simple hand postures used on large, touch-sensitive displays, our approach allows individuals to customdesign glyphs (arrows, lines, etc.) that best reveal patterns of the underlying dataset. Interactive exploration of vector fields is facilitated through freedom of glyph placement, glyph density control, and animation. The custom glyphs can be applied individually to probe specific areas of the data but can also be applied in groups to explore larger regions of a vector field. Re-positionable sources from which glyphs-animated according to the local vector field-continue to emerge are used to examine the vector field dynamically. The combination of these techniques results in an engaging visualization with which the user can rapidly explore and analyze varying types of 2D vector fields, using a virtually infinite number of custom-designed glyphs.

Strategies for the visualization of multiple 2D vector fields

Computer Graphics …, 2006

T he study of coherent structures in turbulent boundary layers is an active area of research. Driven by applications including the reduction of turbulent skin-friction drag over aircraft, researchers have long been interested in developing a deeper understanding of the key physical features within turbulent flows. One application of interest is the analysis of multiple scalar and vector distributions and how the interaction of variables contributes to theories of drag and the formation of vortex packets within a turbulent boundary layer. A second application involves examining the correlation between different layers within a numerical simulation of a turbulent channel flow. The analysis of these applications can be greatly facilitated by a better understanding of the complicated interactions that occur between the vortices that make up the motion. Important research conducted in the computational physics field focuses on modeling 3D magnetohydrodynamic light supersonic jets in the context of astrophysical jets in galaxy clusters. These high-speed jets propagate distances of over 650,000 light years from their sources, transporting energy and magnetic fields to their surrounding environments. The jet magnetic field is advected along with the flow and is expected to reflect properties of the evolving velocity field. Of particular interest is the extent to which the magnetic and velocity vector fields are spatially aligned and/or orthogonal to one another and the interplay between magnetic field strength and the corresponding velocity structures.

Quantitative comparative evaluation of 2d vector field visualization methods

2001

Abstract We present results from a user study that compared six visualization methods for 2D vector data. Two methods used different distributions of short arrows, two used different distributions of integral curves, one used wedges located to suggest flow lines, and the final was line-integral convolution (LIC). We defined three simple but representative tasks for users to perform using visualizations from each method: 1) locating all critical points in an image, 2) identifying critical point types, and 3) advecting a particle.

Global, geometric, and feature-based techniques for vector field visualization

Future Generation Computer Systems, 1999

Vector field visualization techniques are subdivided into three categories: global, geometric, and feature-based techniques. We describe each category, and we present some related work and an example in each category from our own recent research. Spot noise is a texture synthesis technique for global visualization of vector fields on 2D surfaces. Deformable surfaces is a generic technique for extraction and visualization of geometric objects (surfaces or volumes) in 3D data fields. Selective and iconic visualization is an approach that extracts important regions or structures from large data sets, calculates highlevel attributes, and visualizes the features using parameterized iconic objects. It is argued that for vector fields a range of visualization techniques are needed to fulfill the needs of the application.

FieldView: An interactive software tool for exploration of three-dimensional vector fields

arXiv (Cornell University), 2022

Vector fields are one of the fundamental parts of mathematics which are key for modelling many physics phenomena such as electromagnetic fields or fluid and gas flows. Fields found in nature often exhibit complex structures which can be difficult to analyze in full detail without a graphical representation. In this paper we introduce FieldView-an application targeted at academics and industry professionals wanting to visualize vector fields using various rendering techniques. FieldView uses a novel way of evaluation of the field and construction of the displayed elements directly on the GPU which is based on the recently introduced mesh shader graphics pipeline by NVIDIA. Research done for FieldView development has found practical application in the form of magnetic field visualisation integrated in the data processing framework developed by ALICE experiment at CERN.

Design and evaluation of multifield visualisation techniques for 2D vector fields

Proceedings of the 27th Conference on Image and Vision Computing New Zealand - IVCNZ '12, 2012

The visualisation of vector fields is essential for many applications in science, engineering and biomedicine. A large number of vector icons has been developed, but little research has been done on their effectiveness, especially when visualising multiple vector fields simultaneously. We apply research in visualisation and cognitive science to identify four classes of post-processing techniques for visualising two 2D vector fields simultaneously: blending, overlay, bump mapping, and masking. We apply these four postprocessing methods to Line Integral Convolution (LIC) textures and thus develop several novel multi-field visualisation techniques. We evaluate their effectiveness with a user study requiring participants to locate and classify singularities, and to rate each method on its effectiveness and aesthetic value. The results of the study suggest that blending is the most effective technique to combine multiple vector field visualisation textures, while masking performs worst. There is some evidence that visualisations with smooth colour changes are perceived as visually more attractive, and that aesthetics increases the perceived effectiveness of a visualisation technique.

An Illustrative Visualization Framework for 3D Vector Fields

Computer Graphics Forum, 2011

Figure 1: A) A direct streamline visualization of a 3D linear vector field exhibits severe visual clutter. B) A few intermediate representative streamlines generated by our approach capture the essential flow pattern. C) The final illustrative visualization using streamtapes enhances the depth cues for streamlines and succinctly conveys both directional and structural information.

Comparing 2D vector field visualization methods: A user study

2005

Abstract We present results from a user study that compared six visualization methods for two-dimensional vector data. Users performed three simple but representative tasks using visualizations from each method: 1) locating all critical points in an image, 2) identifying critical point types, and 3) advecting a particle.

Automatic, tensor-guided illustrative vector field visualization

2013 IEEE Pacific Visualization Symposium (PacificVis), 2013

This paper proposes a vector field visualization, which mimics a sketch-like representation. The visualization combines two major perspectives: Large scale trends based on a strongly simplified field as background visualization and a local visualization highlighting strongly expressed features at their exact position. Each component considers the vector field itself and its spatial derivatives. The derivate is an asymmetric tensor field, which allows the deduction of scalar quantities reflecting distinctive field properties like strength of rotation or shear. The basis of the background visualization is a vector and scalar clustering approach. The local features are defined as the extrema of the respective scalar fields. Applying scalar field topology provides a profound mathematical basis for the feature extraction. All design decisions are guided by the goal of generating a simple to read visualization. To demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach, we show results for three different data sets with different complexity and characteristics.

Flow Charts: Visualization of Vector Fields on Arbitrary Surfaces

IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics, 2000

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 hardware accelerated flow visualization techniques for interactive performance.