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Vis5D is a 3D visualization system used primarily for animated 3D visualization of weather simulations. It was the first system to produce fully interactive animated 3D displays of time-dynamic volumetric data sets and the first open source 3D visualization system. It is GNU GPL licensed.


Design

Vis5D was created in response to two circumstances: :1. Output data from weather models and similar simulations are sampled on time sequences of regular 3D grids and are relatively straightforward to visualize. :2. The appearance in 1988 of commercial workstations such as the Stellar GS 1000 capable of rendering
Gouraud-shaded Gouraud shading ( ), named after Henri Gouraud, is an interpolation method used in computer graphics to produce continuous shading of surfaces represented by polygon meshes. In practice, Gouraud shading is most often used to achieve continuous ...
3D graphics fast enough for smooth
animation Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby still images are manipulated to create moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Animati ...
. Vis5D takes its name from its 5D array containing time sequences of 3D spatial grids for a set of physical parameters of the atmosphere or ocean. Its
graphical user interface A graphical user interface, or GUI, is a form of user interface that allows user (computing), users to human–computer interaction, interact with electronic devices through Graphics, graphical icon (computing), icons and visual indicators such ...
enables users to select from various ways of visualizing each parameter (e.g., iso-surfaces, plane slices,
volume rendering In scientific visualization and computer graphics, volume rendering is a set of techniques used to display a 2D projection of a 3D discretely sampled data set, typically a 3D scalar field. A typical 3D data set is a group of 2D slice image ...
s), and to select a combination of parameters for view. A key innovation of Vis5D is that it computes and stores the geometries and colors for such graphics over the simulated time sequence, allowing them to be animated quickly so users can watch movies of their simulations. Furthermore, users can interactively rotate the animations in 3D. Vis5D provides other visualization techniques. Users can drag a 3D cursor to a selected time and location, then trigger the calculation of a forward and backward wind trajectory from that point. Users can drag a vertical bar cursor and see, in another window, a thermodynamic diagram for the selected vertical column of atmosphere. And users can drag a 3D cursor to a selected time and location and read out individual values for parameters at that point. These examples all involve
direct manipulation interface In computer science, human–computer interaction, and interaction design, direct manipulation is an approach to interfaces which involves continuous representation of objects of interest together with rapid, reversible, and incremental actions ...
s, as does the placement of plane slices through 3D grids. Vis5D provides options for memory management, so that very large data sets can be visualized at individual time steps without the need to compute graphics over the simulation's entire time sequence, while smaller data sets can be visualized with full animation. Vis5D also provides an
API An application programming interface (API) is a connection between computers or between computer programs. It is a type of software interface, offering a service to other pieces of software. A document or standard that describes how to build ...
enabling developers of other systems to incorporate Vis5D's functionality. This API is the basis of a
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scripting capability so users can write automated scripts for producing animations.


History

Vis5D was first demonstrated, via videotape, at the December 1988 Workshop on Graphics in Meteorology at the
ECMWF The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) is an independent intergovernmental organisation supported by most of the nations of Europe. It is based at three sites: Shinfield, Shinfield Park, Reading, Berkshire, Reading, Unite ...
.ECMWF Workshop, 1988 The first live demos were at the January 1989 annual meeting of the
American Meteorological Society The American Meteorological Society (AMS) is a scientific and professional organization in the United States promoting and disseminating information about the atmospheric, oceanic, and hydrologic sciences. Its mission is to advance the atmosph ...
. Vis5D running on the GS 1000 was the first visualization system to provide smooth animation of 3D gridded time-sequence data sets with interactive rotation.Siggraph Video Review 43, 1989 Vis5D was the first
open-source Open source is source code that is made freely available for possible modification and redistribution. Products include permission to use and view the source code, design documents, or content of the product. The open source model is a decentrali ...
3D visualization system.IEEE Visualization 1990 Vis5D is a natural for immersive
virtual reality Virtual reality (VR) is a Simulation, simulated experience that employs 3D near-eye displays and pose tracking to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video gam ...
and was adapted to the
CAVE Caves or caverns are natural voids under the Earth's Planetary surface, surface. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. Exogene caves are smaller openings that extend a relatively short distance undergrou ...
for the VROOM at the 1994
SIGGRAPH SIGGRAPH (Special Interest Group on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques) is an annual conference centered around computer graphics organized by ACM, starting in 1974 in Boulder, CO. The main conference has always been held in North ...
conference.Hibbard et al, 1996 This became Cave5D.


References


Notes


Bibliography

*W. Hibbard and D. Santek, Visualizing weather data, ''Workshop on Graphics in Meteorology''. ECMWF, Reading, England, December 1988, pp. 63–65. *W. Hibbard, and D. Santek, Interactive Earth Science Visualization, Siggraph Video Review 43, 1989. * W. Hibbard and D. Santek, Visualizing Large Data Sets in the Earth Sciences, ''Computer'' 22, No. 8, August 1989, pp. 53–57. * W. Hibbard and D. Santek, The Vis5D System for Easy Interactive Visualization, ''Proc. IEEE Visualization 1990'', pp 129–134. * W. Hibbard, B. Paul, D. Santek, C. Dyer, A. Battaiola, and M-F. Voidrot-Martinez
Interactive Visualization of Earth and Space Science Computations
''Computer'' 27, No. 7, July 1994, pp. 65–72. * W. Hibbard, J. Anderson, I. Foster, B. Paul, R. Jacob, C. Schafer, and M. Tyree, Exploring Coupled Atmosphere-Ocean Models Using Vis5D, ''International Journal of Supercomputer Applications'' 10, no. 2, 1996, pp. 211–222.


External links


Vis5D page
at
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History of Vis5D and VisAD
{{Portal, Free and open-source software Meteorological data and networks Computational science Infographics Free data and information visualization software Graphic software in meteorology