ECE 59500 - Visualization Techniques

Course Details

Lecture Hours: 3 Credits: 3

Counts as:

  • EE Elective
  • CMPE Selective - Special Content

Experimental Course Offered:

Fall 2008, Fall 2012

Catalog Description:

This course will cover the topics of and algorithm development for scientific visualization, medical visualization, information visualization, and interactive visualization. The course will cover the fundamental algorithms as well as the latest techniques and advances.

Required Text(s):

  1. The Visualization Toolkit , 2nd Edition , W. Schroeder, M. Martin , Prentice Hall Computer Books , 1997 , ISBN No. 0139546944

Recommended Text(s):

None.

Learning Outcomes:

A student who successfully fulfills the course requirements will have demonstrated:
  1. an understanding of the design issues for creating effective visualizations. [b,c,j,k]
  2. an ability to apply visualization techniques to an actual visualization problem and associated dataset. [a,c,e,k]
  3. an ability to read, evaluate, and present technical papers. [a,g]
  4. an understanding of scalar, volume, and surface-based visualization techniques. [a]
  5. an understanding of the issues and techniques for applying visualization to one of the following visualization problems; medical, flow, scientific, and information (abstract data). [a,b,j]
  6. an ability to design an effective visualization solution for a problem. [a,c,e,k]
  7. an ability to present their design and resulting system. [g]

Lecture Outline:

Week Topic
1 Organization and Introduction to visualization goals, data sources, data representation, history, rendering review
2 Introduction to graphics programming graphics hardware
3 Scalar visualization and OpenGL, color, geometry, texture, Open GL
4-5 Isosurfaces, isosurface generation, large data issues, interactive isosurface construction, Initial project presentations
5-6 Volume Visualization, volume ray casting, splatting, transfer functions, acceleration, interactive PC-based volume rendering
7 Visualization Design and Illustrative Visualization, system design, effectiveness, illustration and artistic principles, advanced system design and interaction, alpha project release presentations
8-9 Flow Visualization, experimental flow visualization techniques; glyphs, particles, line-based techniques; texture-based techniques, Line Integral Convolution (LIC)
9-10 Medical Visualization, goals, data sources, issue, pipeline; MIP, isosurfaces, transfer functions and accuracy; clinical validation and assessment; latest techniques and applications
11-12 Perception & Beta Release Presentation, visual mechanisms and characteristics, perception of pattern, color, depth, and motion; Beta release presentation
8 Review of Latest Work in Volume Rendering and Flow Visualization (review of papers from this past year's visualization conferences)
13-14 Information Visualization, Infovis goals and problems, glph-based visualization, visualization of text, databases, visualization of networks, relationships, high-dimensional data, dynamic infovis, web-based infovis, distortion viewing; visual analytics; analysis exercise
15 Project Presentations

Assessment Method:

The course outcomes will be assessed through student demonstration of a completed visualization project, submission of working program(s), homework assignments, oral and written presentation of results (literature survey, alpha release report, beta release report, regular meetings of project teams with the instructor, and the final project report). The overall knowledge acquisition of visualization techniques will be assessed by student oral presentations of papers, through the completion of a literature review, several homework assignments, and through several initial project assignments.