Situations like war, terrorist attacks, fire accidents, floods, storms, etc., which threaten human life and property, demand immediate action to decrease the damage caused by them. A system is needed that predicts the future events based on what has happened and notifies the concerned personnel. The situation could be better understood in less time if the data is represented as colored, shaded and moving images rather than as numbers. Such a system requires a real-time Web-based visualization system with easy and secure access to grid resources, presenting easy-to-read graphics through a simple interface provided by a Web browser, and responding to user actions immediately. The Web and grid environments impose severe performance constraints such as communication time, latency of the network, etc., making it highly difficult to have a highly responsive real-time visualization. This work aims in finding an appropriate design that satisfies the above requirements. It also aims in understanding the limitations of a distributed environment for real-time applications and finding ways to overcome those limitations. A three-tier architecture is proposed, implemented, and tested to find the bottlenecks of the distributed environment. Relevant design principles are applied to a case study eliminating or minimizing the bottlenecks until the case study system satisfies all the requirements. The case study is the Fire-Smoke system, simulating the propagation of fire in the ex-USS Shadwell test area emulating a submarine. This system is re-implemented from a stand-alone system in OpenGL to a real-time Web-based visualization system using Java3D and J2EE technologies.

A proof of concept study into the working of network media capture and visualization through the use of Packet Capture in real-time. An application was developed that is able to capture tcp network packets; identify and display images in raw HTTP network traffic through the use of search, sort, error detection, timeout failsafe algorithms in real time. The application was designed for network administrators to visualize raw network media content together with its relevant network source \& address identifiers. Different approaches were tried and tested such as using Perl with GTK+ and Visual Studio C\# .Net. Furthermore two different types of image identification methods were used: raw magic string identification in pure tcp network traffic and HTTP Mime type identification. The latter being more accurate and faster. C# was seen as vastly superior in both speed of prototyping and final performance evaluation. The study presents a novel new way of monitoring networks on the basis of their media content through deep packet inspection

In recent years researchers has focused on the development of techniques for multi-sensor data fusion systems. Data fusion systems process data from multiple sensors to develop improved estimate of the position, velocity, attributes and identity of entities such as the targets or entities of interest. Visualizing sensor data from fused data to raw data from each sensor help analysts to interpret the data and assess sensor data fusion platform, an evolving situation or threats. Immersive visualization has emerged as an ideal solution for exploration of sensor data and provides opportunities for improvement in multi sensor data fusion. The thesis aims to investigate possibilities of applying information visualization to sensor data fusion platform in Volvo. A visualization prototype is also developed to enables multiple users to interactively visualize Sensor Data Fusion platform in real-time, mainly in order to demonstrates, evaluate and analyze the platform functionality. In this industrial study two research methodologies were used; a case study and an experiment for evaluating the results. First a case study was conducted in order to find the best visualization technique for visualizing sensor data fusion platform. Second an experiment was conducted to evaluate the usability of the prototype that has been developed and make sure the user requirement were met. The visualization tool enabled us to study the effectiveness and efficiency of the visualization techniques used. The results confirm that the visualization method used is effective, efficient for visualizing sensor data fusion platform.

Applying visualization techniques to larger data sets is important to make them easier to explore and analyze. It is also desirable for the visualizations to be done efficiently where there is a continuous flow of data that needs to be visualized. This thesis will explore the performance difference of client and server rendering respectively with the implemented JavaScript visualization framework D3. To perform the comparative study, two prototypes were created, one using server-side rendering and one using client-side rendering. The time was measured and compared between the two versions to see the impact on render and total time for different data sizes and different amount of concurrently connected clients. Rendering times on the client version showed to be faster than on the server, however the data as JSON objects transferred in the client version was significantly larger than the SVG elements in the server version, which leads to a trade off between transferring times and rendering times between the two versions. Increasing the amount of concurrent clients showed to have a significant impact on the server version for larger data sets which was to be expected. / Appliceringen av visualiseringstekniker för större mängder av data är viktigt för att göra dem lättare att utforska och analysera. Det är också önskvärt för visualiseringarna att göras effektivt där det finns ett kontinuerligt flöde av data som behöver visualiseras. Denna rapport utforskar prestanda skillnaderna mellan klient och server rendering med det implementerade JavaScript visualiseringsramverket D3. Den jämförande studien gjordes genom att göra två stycken prototyper, den ena renderade på server-sidan medan den andra renderade på klient-sidan. Olika data mängder och olika antal klienter testades för att se deras påverkan på renderings- och totaltiden för de två versionerna. Renderingstiderna på klient-versionen var snabbare än på servern, dock var datan som skickades på klient-versionen större än de SVG element som skickades på server-versionen vilket leder till att det blir en avvägning mellan överföringstider och renderingstider för de två versionerna. En ökning av antalet parallella klienter hade en stor inverkan på tiden för server-versionen för större datamängder vilket var förväntat.

Augmented Reality (AR) is a fast-emerging technology and it has been applied in many fields e.g. education, health, entertainment, gaming and tracking systems in logistics. AR technology combines the virtual world with the reality by superimposing digital information onto the physical world. This study evaluates the usability of the AR in industrial environment focusing on effectiveness, efficiency, and user acceptance in comparison to other instructional medium e.g. paper-based instructions or manuals. An AR prototype was developed to be used in the usability evaluation. To evaluate the AR application in the field of industry an experiment was conducted. To get the user experience and acceptance questionnaires and interviews were used involving real assembly workers where they used the AR prototype. The results of the study show that when using AR as assistance in the assembly assurance process, the number of faults and task completion time were reduced significantly compared to the traditional methods. Also, the users had a positive attitude and a high level of satisfaction when using AR.

Aus der Einleitung: "Klassische VR/AR-Ausgabegeräte sind meist kopfgetragene Systeme oder 3D-Projektionsanlagen. In bestimmten Anwendungsfällen, zum Beispiel in der Wartung (Schreiber 2011) oder auch in Bauplanung und Bauausführung (Woodward 2011), verbieten sich diese Geräte aufgrund von Arbeitsschutzbestimmungen oder widrigen Einsatzbedingungen. Hier bieten sich Smartphones oder auf ähnlicher Technologie arbeitende Tablett-Computer als Alternative an, insbesondere dann, wenn stereoskopische Darstellung nicht benötigt wird."

[pt] Técnicas de mapeamento de rugosidade são amplamente utilizadas para simular detalhes estruturais de superfícies tridimensionais com o intuito de aumentar a qualidade visual e compensar o baixo detalhamento geométrico usualmente aplicado aos modelos enviados à GPU por questões de desempenho. Avanços recentes no pipeline de renderização permitiram a geração massiva de vértices no hardware gráfico através do recurso de tesselação, oferecendo aos desenvolvedores uma poderosa ferramenta para controle do nível de detalhes de objetos. Este trabalho apresenta uma técnica para o detalhamento geométrico de modelos utilizando tesselação em hardware, baseada tanto em mapas précomputados quanto em dados de deslocamento gerados inteiramente na GPU por meio de técnicas de texturas procedimentais. Análises de desempenho e qualidade visual demonstram as vantagens do método proposto em relação a uma técnica de detalhamento baseada em imagens que é utilizada frequentemente em jogos eletrônicos para enriquecimento da qualidade visual de seus ambientes. / [en] Bump mapping techniques are widely used to simulate structural details of tridimensional surfaces in order to improve visual quality and compensate for the low geometric detailing generally applied to models sent to the GPU due to performance issues. Recent advances in the rendering pipeline enabled the massive generation of vertex data in the graphics hardware by means of the tessellation feature, providing developers with a powerful tool to control the meshes’ level of details. The present work proposes a technique for geometric detailing of models using hardware tessellation, both based on pre-computed depth maps and on displacement data generated entirely on the GPU through procedural textures techniques. Performance and visual quality analysis demonstrates the advantages of the proposed method in relation to an image-based technique commonly used in videogames for enhancing the visual quality of the environments.

No description available.

[pt] Rótulos virtuais são utilizados em aplicações de computação gráfica para representar informações textuais dispostas sobre superfícies geométricas. Tais informações consistem em nomes, numerações, ou outros dados relevantes que precisem ser notados rapidamente quando um usuário examina os objetos da cena. Este trabalho tem como foco os chamados modelos massivos, como modelos CAD (Computer Aided Design) de refinarias de petróleo, os quais possuem um grande número de primitivas geométricas cujo rendering apresenta um alto custo computacional. Em grandes projetos de engenharia, é desejável a visualização imediata de informações específicas de cada objeto ou de partes do modelo, as quais, se exibidas por meio de técnicas convencionais de texturização podem extrapolar os recursos computacionais disponíveis. Nesta dissertação desenvolvemos uma forma de exibir, em tempo real, rótulos virtuais com informações distintas, nas superfícies de objetos de modelos massivos. A técnica é implementada inteiramente em GPU, não apresenta perda significativa de desempenho e possui um baixo gasto de memória. Os objetos de modelos CAD são o foco principal do trabalho, apesar de a solução poder ser utilizada em outros tipos de objetos desde que suas coordenadas de textura sejam corretamente ajustadas. / [en] Virtual Labels are used in computer graphics applications to represent textual information arranged on geometric surfaces. Such information consists of names, numbering, or other relevant data that need to be noticed quickly when a user scans the objects in the scene. This paper focuses on the so-called massive models, as CAD models (Computer Aided Design) of oil refineries, which have a large number of geometric primitives whose rendering presents a high computational cost. In large engineering projects, the immediate visualization of information specific to each object or parts of the model is desirable, which, if displayed by conventional texturing techniques can extrapolate the available computational resources. In this work we have developed a way to view, in real time, virtual labels with different information on the surfaces of objects in massive models. The technique is implemented entirely on the GPU, shows no significant loss of performance and low memory cost. CAD models objects are the main focus of the work, although the solution can be used in other types of objects once their texture coordinates are adjusted correctly.

Le modèle physique masses interactions est puissant pour la simulation de comportements dynamiques très divers et pour la production de mouvements expressifs, riches et d'une grande complexité. En revanche, une difficulté inhérente à ce type de formalisme pour la production d'images animées réside dans le fait que les masses ponctuelles n'ont pas de spatialité ; il est donc difficile de produire des séquences d'images animées par le rendu direct des masses ponctuelles décrivant le mouvement. D'une manière générale, il est donc nécessaire de développer des méthodes qui étendent la spatialité de ces masses ponctuelles pour compléter la chaîne de production d'images animées par modèle physique particulaire. Une méthode, proposée par le laboratoire ICA, répond à ce type de problématique en permettant d'étendre la spatialité des masses ponctuelles en considérant l'interaction physique entre ces masses et un milieu. Il s'agit d'une métaphore du procédé physique de la gravure. Celle ci a permis de produire des images animées convaincantes de divers phénomènes visuels. Nous présentons dans ce document un élargissement de cette méthode notamment au cas 3D, ainsi qu'à de nouveaux comportements. De plus, l'algorithme de cette méthode a été parallélisé, ce qui nous a permis d'obtenir des simulations calculées en temps réel en utilisant la puissance actuelle des cartes graphiques. Afin de maitriser au mieux les possibilités de la méthode, nous avons développé un logiciel comprenant une interface graphique manipulable et interactive permettant de modéliser avec aisance différents comportements. Cette méthode a été intégrée dans des installations interactives artistiques multi-sensorielles fournissant un comportement dynamique riche et configurable, tout en permettant une interaction en temps réel avec le spectateur. / Mass – Interaction physical modeling is a powerful formalism for the simulation of various dynamic behaviors and for the production of expressive, rich and complex motions. However, there is an inherent matter of this type of formalism for animation production, which resides on the fact that masses have no spatiality. Thus, it is difficult to produce animation sequences directly from rendering mass point describing the movement. It is then necessary to develop methods that extend the masses spatiality in order to complete the animation process. ICA Laboratory addressed the problem with a method based on the physical simulation of interaction between these masses and a dynamic milieu, according to the metaphor of engraving. We present in this document an extension of this method notably towards 3D and other effects. Besides, the parallel implementation on Graphic Cards (GPU) allowed obtaining real time simulation. An interactive graphical interface was also developed to facilitate the creation of different models. We used this process in multi-sensory interactive art installations for its rich and dynamic ability to create shape from motion and interact in real time with spectators.