Context dependent model visualization

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering, 1998.Includes bibliographical references (p. 59-61).Thomas Almy.S.M

Methods and Distributed Software for Visualization of Cracks Propagating in Discrete Particle Systems

Scientific visualization is becoming increasingly important in analyzing and interpreting numerical and experimental data sets. Parallel computations of discrete particle systems lead to large data sets that can be produced, stored and visualized on distributed IT infrastructures. However, this leads to very complicated environments handling complex simulation and interactive visualization on the remote heterogeneous architectures. In micro-structure of continuum, broken connections between neighbouring particles can form complex cracks of unknown geometrical shape. The complex disjoint surfaces of cracks with holes and unavailability of a suitable scalar field defining the crack surfaces limit the application of the common surface extraction methods. The main visualization task is to extract the surfaces of cracks according to the connectivity of the broken connections and the geometry of the neighbouring particles. The research aims at enhancing the visualization methods of discrete particle systems and increasing speed of distributed visualization software. The dissertation consists of introduction, three main chapters and general conclusions. In the first Chapter, a literature review on visualization software, distributed environments, discrete element simulation of particle systems and crack visualization methods is presented. In the second Chapter, novel visualization methods were proposed for extraction of crack surfaces from monodispersed particle systems modelled by the discrete element method. The cell cut-based method, the Voronoi-based method and cell centre-based method explicitly define geometry of propagating cracks in fractured regions. The proposed visualization methods were implemented in the grid visualization e–service VizLitG and the distributed visualization software VisPartDEM. Partial data set transfer from the grid storage element was developed to reduce the data transfer and visualization time. In the third Chapter, the results of experimental research are presented. The performance of e-service VizLitG was evaluated in a geographically distributed grid. Different types of software were employed for data transfer in order to present the quantitative comparison. The performance of the developed visualization methods was investigated. The quantitative comparison of the execution time of local Voronoi-based method and that of global Voronoi diagrams generated by Voro++ library was presented. The accuracy of the developed methods was evaluated by computing the total depth of cuts made in particles by the extracted crack surfaces. The present research confirmed that the proposed visualization methods and the developed distributed software were capable of visualizing crack propagation modelled by the discrete element method in monodispersed particulate media

An intelligent sketchpad : a gestural language for denoting temporal relations in dynamic design

Thesis (M.S.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Program in Media Arts & Sciences, 1993.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 65-71).by Karen Donoghue.M.S

Contributions to the cornerstones of interaction in visualization: strengthening the interaction of visualization

Visualization has become an accepted means for data exploration and analysis. Although interaction is an important component of visualization approaches, current visualization research pays less attention to interaction than to aspects of the graphical representation. Therefore, the goal of this work is to strengthen the interaction side of visualization. To this end, we establish a unified view on interaction in visualization. This unified view covers four cornerstones: the data, the tasks, the technology, and the human.Visualisierung hat sich zu einem unverzichtbaren Werkzeug für die Exploration und Analyse von Daten entwickelt. Obwohl Interaktion ein wichtiger Bestandteil solcher Werkzeuge ist, wird der Interaktion in der aktuellen Visualisierungsforschung weniger Aufmerksamkeit gewidmet als Aspekten der graphischen Repräsentation. Daher ist es das Ziel dieser Arbeit, die Interaktion im Bereich der Visualisierung zu stärken. Hierzu wird eine einheitliche Sicht auf Interaktion in der Visualisierung entwickelt

The Stretch-Engine: A Method for Creating Exaggeration in Animation Through Squash and Stretch

Animators exaggerate character motion to emphasize personality and actions. Exaggeration is expressed by pushing a character’s pose, changing the action’s timing, or by changing a character’s form. This last method, referred to as squash and stretch, creates the most noticeable change in exaggeration. However, without practice, squash and stretch can adversely affect the animation. This work introduces a method to create exaggeration in motion by focusing solely on squash and stretch to control changes in a character’s form. It does this by displaying a limbs' path of motion and altering the shape of that path to create a change in the limb’s form. This paper provides information on tools that exist to create animation and exaggeration, then discusses the functionality and effectiveness of these tools and how they influenced the design of the Stretch-Engine. The Stretch-Engine is a prototype tool developed to demonstrate this approach and is designed to be integrated into an existing animation software, Maya. The Stretch-Engine contains a bipedal-humanoid rig with controls necessary for animation and the ability to squash and stretch. It can be accessed through a user interface that allows the animator to control squash and stretch by changing the shape of generated paths of motion. This method is then evaluated by comparing animations of realistic motion to versions created with the Stretch-Engine. These stretched versions displayed exaggerated results for their realistic counterparts, creating similar effects to Looney Tunes animation. This method fits within the animator’s workflow and helps new artists visualize and control squash and stretch to create exaggeration

Contributions to the science of controlled transformation

writing completed in april 2013My research activities pertain to "Informatics" and in particular "Interactive Graphics" i.e. dynamic graphics on a 2D screen that a user can interact with by means of input devices such as a mouse or a multitouch surface. I have conducted research on Interactive Graphics along three themes: interactive graphics development (how should developers design the architecture of the code corresponding to graphical interactions?), interactive graphic design (what graphical interactions should User Experience (UX) specialists use in their system?) and interactive graphics design process (how should UX specialists design? Which method should they apply?) I invented the MDPC architecture that relies on Picking views and Inverse transforms. This improves the modularity of programs and improves the usability of the specification and the implementation of interactive graphics thanks to the simplification of description. In order to improve the performance of rich-graphic software using this architecture, I explored the concepts of graphical compilers and led a PhD thesis on the topic. The thesis explored the approach and contributed both in terms of description simplification and of software engineering facilitation. Finally, I have applied the simplification of description principles to the problem of shape covering avoidance by relying on new efficient hardware support for parallelized and memory-based algorithms. Together with my colleagues, we have explored the design and assessment of expanding targets, animation and sound, interaction with numerous tangled trajectories, multi-user interaction and tangible interaction. I have identified and defined Structural Interaction, a new interaction paradigm that follows the steps of the direct and instrumental interaction paradigms. I directed a PhD thesis on this topic and together with my student we designed and assessed interaction techniques for structural interaction. I was involved in the design of the "Technology Probes" concept i.e. runnable prototypes to feed the design process. Together with colleagues, I designed VideoProbe, one such Technology Probe. I became interested in more conceptual tools targeted at graphical representation. I led two PhD theses on the topic and explored the characterization of visualization, how to design representations with visual variables or ecological perception and how to design visual interfaces to improve visual scanning. I discovered that those conceptual tools could be applied to programming languages and showed how the representation of code, be it textual or "visual" undergoes visual perception phenomena. This has led me to consider our discipline as the "Science of Controlled Transformations". The fifth chapter is an attempt at providing this new account of "Informatics" based on what users, programmers and researchers actually do with interactive systems. I also describe how my work can be considered as contributing to the science of controlled transformations

Data graphics and interactive information environments

The flow and exchange of information is characteristic of the digital age. Information is increasingly consumed and produced. It has to be stored, channelled and processed. It also has to be reproduced in new forms again and again. The exponential growth in the volume of digital data has led to new challenges to visualize this data, such that it makes a significant difference to ones understanding of this data. This gain is known as information, which ultimately transforms into knowledge. Information Visualization attempts to create tools and processes that are an aid to cognition. Although this is a relatively new but established discipline, its roots can be traced to developments in the early 17th century, to what are now termed as Data Graphics. As a precursor to modern, dynamic, computer-based visualizations, Data Graphics underpin the science of visualization. This thesis looks at the design principles that govern the construction of historic and contemporary data displays. Although the medium on which Data Graphics have historically been constructed and presented has changed from paper to the computer, design principles have remained the same regardless of the medium or the source of content. The thesis then applies these principles to construct two applications based on large, complex and multivariate data-sets. The first is a proposal for a three-dimensional radar display to visualize Air Traffic Control data. The second application is a visual navigation tool to search within a hypertext document. Both case studies apply design principles inherent in data graphics and utilise human perceptual and cognitive abilities to extract information inherent in data. Finally, both applications are tested by conducting user studies. The contributions of the thesis lie in the construction of the two novel information visualization applications stated above, and by demonstrating that data graphic design principles transcend the medium in which they are produced and presented and can greatly enhance the beauty, efficacy and effectiveness of data displays