VizCraft: a multidimensional visualization tool for aircraft configuration design

We describe a visualization tool to aid aircraft designers during the conceptual design stage. The conceptual design for an aircraft is defined by a vector of 10-30 parameters. The goal is to find a vector that minimizes an objective function while meeting a series of constraints. VizCraft integrates the simulation code that evaluates the design with visualizations for analyzing the design individually or in contrast to other designs. VizCraft allows the designer to easily switch between the view of a design in the form of a parameter set, and a visualization of the corresponding aircraft. The user can easily see which, if any, constraints are violated. VizCraft also allows the user to view a database of designs using parallel coordinates.