ASA 127th Meeting M.I.T. 1994 June 6-10

3pSAb6. Experiences in three-dimensional visualization of near-field acoustical holography data sets.

Karl B. Washburn

Earl G. Williams

Naval Res. Lab., 4555 Overlook Ave. SW, Washington, DC 20375-5350

Data collected and processed in near-field acoustical holography are inherently multi-dimensional. The data span two spatial dimensions (or their transform-space counterparts) and a dimension in either time or frequency, and the quantities of interest within those spaces also represent dimensions. Various processes, such as multiple projections or time-frequency transforms, can increase the dimensionality even further. When powerful, inexpensive graphics display systems became available, they brought the capability for viewing at least four dimensions simultaneously (two in the screen space, one implicit in space via depth cues, and one in color). A public domain package called ``BoB'' (for ``Brick-of-Bytes''), provided by the Army High Performance Computing Research Center (AHPCRC), was used to view large blocks of holographic data in four dimensions. This work examines our experiences in trying to explore holographic data using this form of visualization. It was found to be inferior in comparison to currently used forms of visualizing data, in particular, mosaics of false-color plots. Reasons for this apparent lack of success will be discussed.

All posters will be on display from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. To allow contributors an opportunity to see other posters, contributors of odd-numbered posters will be at their posters from 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. and contributors of even-numbered posters will be at their posters from 2:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.