HR: 16:40h
AN: NG12D-03 INVITED     [PDF]
TI: Amira: Multi-Dimensional Scientific Visualization for the GeoSciences in the 21st Century
AU: * Bartsch, H
EM: hauke@tgs.com
AF: TGS Inc., 5330 Carroll Canyon Rd., Suite 201, San Diego, CA 92121 United States
AU: Erlebacher, G
EM: erlebach@csit.fsu.edu
AF: Florida State University, 489 Dirac Science Library, Tallahassee, FL 32309-4120 United States
AB: {\it amira} ({\tt www.amiravis.com}) is a general purpose framework for 3D scientific visualization that meets the needs of the non-programmer, the script writer, and the advanced programmer alike. Provided modules may be visually assembled in an interactive manner to create complex visual displays. These modules and their associated user interfaces are controlled either via a mouse, or via an interactive scripting mechanism based on Tcl. Finally, an advanced API is made available, which enables the development of specialized modules. Its standard configuration includes many of the current visualization algorithms that operate on curves, surfaces and volumes, over a range of grid types. Amira uses a combination of efficient data structures, fast algorithms and hardware support not only to produce stunning visualizations, but to analyze and extract features from the data. Examples of available capabilities include scalar and vector field visualizations, geometry reconstruction, image segmentation, and direct volume rendering. Amira runs on both laptop and supercomputers on most existing operating systems. The user interface has the same functionality on all platforms. One extension to Amira, of relevance to the geosciences, is the VR component, which enables Amira scripts to run unmodified on big tiled displaces, in a cave-like environment, or in a dome. Ongoing research to provide Amira with features of direct relevance to the Geosciences community includes tools for remote and collaborative visualization. In this talk, we will present an overview of the above features, with an emphasis on the Earth Sciences community.
UR: http://www.amiravis.com
DE: 0689 Wave propagation (4275)
DE: 0910 Data processing
DE: 7205 Continental crust (1242)
DE: 8409 Atmospheric effects (0370)
DE: 9820 Techniques applicable in three or more fields
SC: Nonlinear Geophysics [NG]
MN: 2003 Fall Meeting