Visualization

Fieldview
FieldView is an advanced scientific visualization post processor developed by Intelligent Light. FieldView provides extensive capabilities for visualizing 3D data sets using color-mapped planes, isosurfaces, vector fields, particle tracking, streamlines and numerous other entities. FieldView provides all the advantages of professional commercial software including robustness, cutting edge features and excellent technical support. Reaction Engineering International uses FieldView as the core visualization software for our consulting services.

OpenDX
OpenDX was originally developed by IBM. Its long history as a commercial software package shows in its polished core visualization capabilities and extensive documentation. Since being released to open source, DX has been widely accepted as the visualization package of choice for many research groups in national laboratories, universities and large industrial research laboratories. The large user base for DX ensures that modules exist to manipulate, transform, process, realize, render and animate data based on points, lines, areas, volumes, images or geometric primitives. These modules can be quickly arranged to provide popular data analysis tools, such as: display point values (point probe); one (XY), two (carpet/surface plots) and three dimensional plots; line and solid shaded contours, iso-surface extraction, data and vector value slices and solid particle trajectories through flow fields. More complicated networks can be built for nearly every conceivable visualization task.

REI currently uses OpenDX to perform customized visualization tasks for our computational workbench environments. The package requires significant expertise to use and to enhance, and thus has been somewhat restricted to research efforts at REI. Further information about OpenDX is available on the web at: http://www.opendx.org.

VTK-Based Tools
VTK (Visualization ToolKit) is another powerful scientific visualization engine used by REI. VTK is an extensive open-source class library which supports a full range of scientific visualization operations including color mapped planes, streamlines, isosurfaces, picking, texture mapping, stereoscopic viewing etc. REI makes use of VTK for numerous customized visualization applications.

An example is a custom visualization tool which is coupled directly coupled to our computational workbench environments. This visualization tool provides a drop-in alternative to OpenDX. The tool adds the capability of being able to easily generate active stereoscopic views for desktop VR. The viewer supports a full range of visualization capabilities including color-mapped planes, isosurfaces, streamlines, particle trajectories and volume rendering.

Virtual Reality (VR)
REI has recently untaken efforts to augment and utilize multi-platform, open source VR software. The goal of these efforts will be to enable users of our workbench environments to visualize complex data sets in a myriad of ways on a full range of visualization hardware, from a simple CRT all the way to a multi-walled, immersive environment.

The VR software being integrated with the workbench environments is Iowa State University’s VRAC VRExplorer. VRExplorer is currently undergoing further development to meet the needs of the workbench environments. This work is being done through collaborative efforts of both Reaction Engineering International and VRAC center personnel. This collaboration will result in powerful VR capabilities for the workbenches and the resulting software will be compatible with nearly all VR hardware.

REI has access to a full range of VR hardware. At our offices, we make use of active stereographic visualization via IR controlled LCD glasses. This provides excellent 3D visualization on high-end computer monitors. As a result of our working relationship with Iowa State’s VRAC, REI has access to some of the top multi-walled visualization environments in the world located at Iowa State University.