Vis5D is a 3-D

3D computer graphics

3D computer graphics are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data that is stored in the computer for the purposes of performing calculations and rendering 2D images...

 visualization system

Scientific visualization

Scientific visualization is an interdisciplinary branch of science according to Friendly "primarily concerned with the visualization of three-dimensional phenomena , where the emphasis is on realistic renderings of volumes, surfaces, illumination sources, and so forth, perhaps...

 used primarily for animated 3-D visualization of weather simulations

Numerical weather prediction

Numerical weather prediction uses mathematical models of the atmosphere and oceans to predict the weather based on current weather conditions. Though first attempted in the 1920s, it was not until the advent of computer simulation in the 1950s that numerical weather predictions produced realistic...

. It was the first system to produce fully interactive animated 3-D displays of time-dynamic volumetric data sets and the first open source 3-D visualization system.

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 3-D grids and are relatively straightforward to visualize.

2. The appearance in 1988 of commercial workstations such as the Stellar GS 1000

GS workstation

The Stellar GS workstation family consisted of the GS1000 and GS2000 models. After Stellar merged with Ardent to form Stardent they were sold as the ST1000 and ST2000 models....

 capable of rendering Gouraud-shaded 3-D graphics fast enough for smooth animation

Animation

Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...

.

Vis5D takes it name from its 5-D array containing time sequences of 3-D spatial grids for a set of physical parameters of the atmosphere or ocean. Its graphical user interface

Graphical user interface

In computing, a graphical user interface is a type of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices with images rather than text commands. GUIs can be used in computers, hand-held devices such as MP3 players, portable media players or gaming devices, household appliances and...

 enables users to select from various ways of visualizing each parameter (e.g., iso-surfaces, plane slices, volume renderings

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.A typical 3D data set is a group of 2D slice images acquired by aCT, MRI, or MicroCT scanner....

), 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 3-D.

Vis5D provides other visualization techniques. Users can drag a 3-D 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 3-D cursor to a selected time and location and read out individual values for parameters at that point. These examples all involve direct manipulation interfaces

Direct manipulation interface

In computer science, direct manipulation is a human-computer interaction style which involves continuous representation of objects of interest, and rapid, reversible, incremental actions and feedback. The intention is to allow a user to directly manipulate objects presented to them, using actions...

, as does the placement of plane slices through 3-D 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 enabling developers of other systems to incorporate Vis5D's functionality. This API is the basis of a TCL

TCL

TCL or Tcl may mean:* Biochemistry** TCL * Companies** TCL Corporation, a Chinese electronics company** Twin City Lines, former public transit via streetcar in Minneapolis*Computer languages...

 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 first live demos were at the January 1989 annual meeting of the American Meteorological Society

American Meteorological Society

The American Meteorological Society promotes the development and dissemination of information and education on the atmospheric and related oceanic and hydrologic sciences and the advancement of their professional applications. Founded in 1919, the American Meteorological Society has a membership...

.

Vis5D running on the GS 1000 was the first visualization system to provide smooth animation of 3-D gridded time-sequence data sets with interactive rotation.

Vis5D was the first open source

Open source

The term open source describes practices in production and development that promote access to the end product's source materials. Some consider open source a philosophy, others consider it a pragmatic methodology...

 3-D visualization system.

Vis5D is a natural for immersive

Immersion (virtual reality)

Immersion is the state of consciousness where an immersant's awareness of physical self is diminished or lost by being surrounded in an engrossing total environment; often artificial. This mental state is frequently accompanied with spatial excess, intense focus, a distorted sense of time, and...

 virtual reality

Virtual reality

Virtual reality , also known as virtuality, is a term that applies to computer-simulated environments that can simulate physical presence in places in the real world, as well as in imaginary worlds...

 and was adapted to the CAVE

Cave Automatic Virtual Environment

A Cave Automatic Virtual Environment is an immersive virtual reality environment where projectors are directed to three, four, five or six of the walls of a room-sized cube...

 for the VROOM at the 1994 Siggraph

SIGGRAPH

SIGGRAPH is the name of the annual conference on computer graphics convened by the ACM SIGGRAPH organization. The first SIGGRAPH conference was in 1974. The conference is attended by tens of thousands of computer professionals...

 conference. This became Cave5D

Cave5D

Cave5D is an adaptation of Vis5D to the CAVE for immersive virtual reality.-Bibliography:* W. Hibbard, J. Anderson, I. Foster, B. Paul, R. Jacob, C. Schafer, and M. Tyree, Exploring Coupled Atmosphere-Ocean Models Using Vis5D, Int. J. of Supercomputer Applications 10, no. 2, 1996,...

.

External links

• Vis5D Home Page
• http://vis5d.sourceforge.net/Vis5D page at SourceForge
  SourceForge
  SourceForge Enterprise Edition is a collaborative revision control and software development management system. It provides a front-end to a range of software development lifecycle services and integrates with a number of free software / open source software applications .While originally itself...
  
  ]
• History of Vis5D and VisAD