Color Display and Interactive Interpretation of Three-Dimensional Data

Three-dimensional results from engineering and scientific computations often involve the display and interpretation of a large volume of complex data. A method is developed for color display of 3D data with several interactive options to facilitate interpretation. The method is based on representing points whose values fall within a specified range as a single hue. An image is formed by overlaying successive 2D frames with increasing hue lightness towards the front. Interactive options to aid interpretations are viewpoint, contour lines, multiple range display, slicing, veiled surfaces, and stereo image pairs. The display method is successfully applied to several types of data. The overall structure and variations of the 3D data are observable, as well as transients which may be overlooked in a large input data set.