As scientific data becomes larger and more complex, the problem of presenting data effectively is joined by another, potentially more difficult one - how to extract presentable data from the flood of raw information. This problem is equally difficult for results from large simulations and data from high-resolution instruments. Thus, the field of scientific visualization becomes intimately tied to more traditional studies of data analysis, including image processing, pattern recognition, artificial intelligence, and computer vision. However, in contrast to those fields, visualization explicitly includes the user in the process of filtering, extracting, and rendering meaningful data. The goal of this project is to make level-set modeling - a useful but computationally expensive visualization technique - interactive for use in 3-D visualization of biological data sets.
Technically, the project has three components. The first is the design and implementation of a hardware and software system for interactive level-set surface model computation and display. This system will use off-the-shelf PC hardware and graphics boards and new algorithms and software to reach its interactivity goals. The second component will create the human-computer interface that allows users to interact with the level-set models. This will require mapping user input onto the mathematical descriptions controlling surface motion and deformation in the models. Finally, the third component will be the application of the techniques to visualize large biological data sets by researchers in this project.
This is a collaborative project between California Institute of Technology and the University of Utah.
