Title :
The distributed virtual windtunnel
Author :
Bryson, Steve ; Gerald-Yamasaki, Michael
Author_Institution :
NASA Ames Res. Center, Moffett Field, CA, USA
Abstract :
An implementation of a distributed virtual environment for the shared interactive visualization of large unsteady three-dimensional flowfields is described. Computation of the visualizations is performed on a Convex C3240 computer and the visualization data are transferred over a high-speed network to a Silicon Graphics Iris workstation for rendering. A boom-mounted six-degree-of-freedom head-position-sensitive stereo CRT (cathode ray tube) system is used for display. A hand-position-sensitive glove controller is used for controlling various tracers (e.g., `smoke´) for the visualization of the flow. User commands are sent to the Convex, which interprets these commands and computes the corresponding visualization. With this architecture, several users may share and cooperatively control the visualization generated by the Convex. The distributed architecture is also interesting to those using conventional screen and mouse interfaces
Keywords :
flow visualisation; physics computing; rendering (computer graphics); Convex C3240 computer; Silicon Graphics Iris workstation; distributed architecture; distributed virtual windtunnel; hand-position-sensitive glove controller; high-speed network; large unsteady three-dimensional flowfields; mouse interfaces; rendering; shared interactive visualization; stereo CRT; tracers; Cathode ray tubes; Computer architecture; Computer graphics; Computer networks; Data visualization; High performance computing; High-speed networks; Iris; Silicon; Virtual environment;
Conference_Titel :
Supercomputing '92., Proceedings
Conference_Location :
Minneapolis, MN
Print_ISBN :
0-8186-2630-5
DOI :
10.1109/SUPERC.1992.236675