System Software R&D
Develop methods to analyze high-rate/high-volume data generated by ESS Grand Challenges.
Use virtual environments to improve dataspace navigation, provide more efficient interaction/investigation, and, through immersion, possibly improve the efficiency of neuro-optical analyses. Existing visualization software packages will be adapted to utilize virtual environment technologies. Remote rendering capabilities will be developed to allow investigators to utilize a virtual environment interface on their desktop that is driven by a centralized graphics server.
We shifted our focus from developing in situ virtual environment tools to providing a distributed and collaborative virtual environment that supports the utilization of a centralized computer graphics server (e.g., the Goddard HPCC Onyx2). After researching various mechanisms, such as MPEG encoders, we settled on using GLR, an internal package from Silicon Graphics (SGI) that is the basis for a future SGI render serving product. Utilizing the standard GLX protocol, GLR provides a simple application programming interface (API) to generate graphical images on remote machines. In addition, it allows varying image sizes and hybrid implementations (e.g., combining local and remote rendering)
We have a version of Vis5D with GLR enhancements and demonstrated it at three Grand Challenge Investigator sites (with rendering being performed on the Goddard Onyx2). We plan to use Vis5D-GLR in an operational scenario employing data from Investigator Graham Carey.
With the goal of increasing visualization support for the ESS Investigators, we visited five Investigators and held one-on-one meetings with them and/or their team to understand their HPCC visualization requirements. We created a CD-ROM with numerous demonstrations and support software for the purposes of these visits. Requirement lists were generated, and we are actively fulfilling the requirements.
Other achievements include making a stereo movie of Investigator Peter Lyster's data for SC97, performing a partial port of Vis5D to Goddard's Immersive Workbench, adding support for particles in Vis5D, and releasing Goddard's Vis5D enhancements to the Vis5D community.
The job of the NASA scientist increasingly involves sifting through mountains of acquired and computationally generated data. The essence of virtual environments is to deal with the data in the same way that you deal with the actual world—through the visual cortex and motor responses—rather than through artificial interfaces. The creation of an operational VR environment for rapid data searching and manipulation is required to validate the theory and transfer it to the NASA science community. To promote convenience and to share centralized resources, this environment should be shareable and distributed.
We will extend our render server architecture to include support for stereo imagery and three- or six-degree of freedom interface devices. We will investigate the Jet Propulsion Laboratory HPCC compression algorithm and determine its utility in our system. We will continue to support ad hoc requests for visualization help from the HPCC community.
Steve Maher
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
steve.maher@gsfc.nasa.gov
301-286-3368
Horace Mitchell
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
horace.mitchell@gsfc.nasa.gov
301-286-4030