The stochastic highlighting of polygon edges in the transparent visualization of large-scale polygon meshes: application to visualizing a high-energy elementary particle detector

ABSTRACT

In this paper, we propose a new stochastic algorithm that supports high-quality transparent visualization of line objects and apply it to polygon edges of complex three-dimensional (3D) polygon models. We also apply it to realizing transparent wireframe visualization that greatly improves comprehensibility of the conventional method. In our algorithm, the line opacity is recognized as the probability that a pixel on the image plane becomes the projected line colour. Our stochastic algorithm successfully makes a depth sort of rendering primitives, which often causes rendering artefacts and a wrong depth feel in conventional non-stochastic transparent rendering, unnecessary. We demonstrate our method using 3D models of the ATLAS detector, which is the world's largest high-energy elementary particle detector at CERN laboratory (EU) and a complex car engine. We also demonstrate the transparent wireframe visualization using the simulation data, which consist of many line objects, acquired for the ATLAS detector.

KEYWORDS:

• Stochastic realization of transparency
• point-based rendering
• large-scale polygon mesh
• polygon edge
• transparent wireframe

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Prof. Takashi Sasaki, Prof. John Allison, and Prof. Hajime Yoshida for their valuable advice.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) KAKENHI under Grant Numbers [KAKENHI 25246044, KAKENHI 17H01084, KAKENHI 16H02826]