Computational steering in the CAVE

Scientists can gain much more insight from their simulations if they are enabled to change simulation parameters on the fly while observing the results immediately. A crucial aspect of such {em computational steering/ is an intuitive user interface. We have developed an environment that enables researchers to construct such interfaces efficiently and effectively for graphical workstations. In this paper we report on our next step towards more intuitive user-interfaces: We have modified our system for use in the CAVE. The CAVE is a projection-based virtual environment. Virtual environments are designed to provide the effect of immersion in an interactive three-dimensional computer-generated environment. We show that the use of virtual environments for computational steering interfaces can improve interaction with the simulation and immersion in the computational process. We present our system, the methods we have developed for improved 3D interaction, and describe three applications

A Conceptual Framework for Motion Based Music Applications

Imaginary projections are the core of the framework for motion based music applications presented in this paper. Their design depends on the space covered by the motion tracking device, but also on the musical feature involved in the application. They can be considered a very powerful tool because they allow not only to project in the virtual environment the image of a traditional acoustic instrument, but also to express any spatially defined abstract concept. The system pipeline starts from the musical content and, through a geometrical interpretation, arrives to its projection in the physical space. Three case studies involving different motion tracking devices and different musical concepts will be analyzed. The three examined applications have been programmed and already tested by the authors. They aim respectively at musical expressive interaction (Disembodied Voices), tonal music knowledge (Harmonic Walk) and XX century music composition (Hand Composer)

The Persint visualization program for the ATLAS experiment

The Persint program is designed for the three-dimensional representation of objects and for the interfacing and access to a variety of independent applications, in a fully interactive way. Facilities are provided for the spatial navigation and the definition of the visualization properties, in order to interactively set the viewing and viewed points, and to obtain the desired perspective. In parallel, applications may be launched through the use of dedicated interfaces, such as the interactive reconstruction and display of physics events. Recent developments have focalized on the interfacing to the XML ATLAS General Detector Description AGDD, making it a widely used tool for XML developers. The graphics capabilities of this program were exploited in the context of the ATLAS 2002 Muon Testbeam where it was used as an online event display, integrated in the online software framework and participating in the commissioning and debug of the detector system.Comment: 9 pages, 10 figures, proceedings of CHEP200

Developing Interaction 3D Models for E-Learning Applications

Some issues concerning the development of interactive 3D models for e-learning applications are considered. Given that 3D data sets are normally large and interactive display demands high performance computation, a natural solution would be placing the computational burden on the client machine rather than on the server. Mozilla and Google opted for a combination of client-side languages, JavaScript and OpenGL, to handle 3D graphics in a web browser (Mozilla 3D and O3D respectively). Based on the O3D model, core web technologies are considered and an example of the full process involving the generation of a 3D model and their interactive visualization in a web browser is described. The challenging issue of creating realistic 3D models of objects in the real world is discussed and a method based on line projection for fast 3D reconstruction is presented. The generated model is then visualized in a web browser. The experiments demonstrate that visualization of 3D data in a web browser can provide quality user experience. Moreover, the development of web applications are facilitated by O3D JavaScript extension allowing web designers to focus on 3D contents generation

From Big Data to Big Displays: High-Performance Visualization at Blue Brain

Blue Brain has pushed high-performance visualization (HPV) to complement its HPC strategy since its inception in 2007. In 2011, this strategy has been accelerated to develop innovative visualization solutions through increased funding and strategic partnerships with other research institutions. We present the key elements of this HPV ecosystem, which integrates C++ visualization applications with novel collaborative display systems. We motivate how our strategy of transforming visualization engines into services enables a variety of use cases, not only for the integration with high-fidelity displays, but also to build service oriented architectures, to link into web applications and to provide remote services to Python applications.Comment: ISC 2017 Visualization at Scale worksho