Last update: Sept.14, 1998

Publications on Computational Geometry on Visualization :

• Modeling and Visualizing Volumetric and Surface-on-Surface Data, Nielson, G.M., 1993.

BibTeX references.

Consider the case where a single variable is dependent on 3 other independent variables; then 2 broad classes of modeling and visualization problems can be distinguished:

1. volumetric (data are arbitrary points in a 3D domain), and
2. surface-on-surface (points are restricted to lie on a surface in 3D space).

This review paper begins with a case by case examination of 8 canonical data sets that are repeatedly referenced in the subsequent discussion of visualization and modeling methods. Topics in visualization that are reviewed include:

• domain decomposition methods (tiny cubes, or vanishing cubes),
• slice methods,
• contour methods (i.e., Marching Cubes),
• ray casting,
• volume interrogation techniques, and
• methods adapted to the special case of surface-on-surface models.

The section on modeling trivariate data reads like a primer on scattered data interpolation complete with discussions of:

• cubic splines,
• distance function approaches,
• the "Venezia criteria" for localization, and
• minimum norm network methods.

The paper concludes with technical considerations for applying these methods on both volumes and surface-on-surface data.

Page created & maintained by Frederic Leymarie, 1998.
Comments, suggestions, etc., mail to: leymarie@lems.brown.edu