A Vector Field Texture Generation Method without Convolution Calculation

Abstract

In the LIC algorithm process, symmetrical streamline tracing is used to symmetrically convolve the original values of all the primitive values that pass by to obtain the resulting texture. In this process, streamline tracking and convolution consume a lot of computing resources. To generate more expressive textures for vector fields with less time consumption, a novel method named random increment streamline (RIS) is put forward, which can generate streamline textures without convolution calculations. First, the mesh unit filling preprocessing (MUFP) method is presented to transform an undressed irregular grid into a special kind of regular grid named a “texture pixel”, and the point location and interpolation processes of all sampling points in the texture pixels are calculated before streamline tracking. Second, the random increment streamline method is used to generate line integral convolution style textures without any convolution calculations, thus greatly reducing the algorithm’s time consumption. Third, the vector directions at each point in the static vector field are clearly expressed using the periodic cyclic animation method. Finally, several simplifications of the RIS algorithm are discussed, which help to achieve a better visual effect with faster speed. The programming results show that the method is faster and more applicable than the traditional LIC method and provides clearer expression of the vector field.

Adaptive Method to Locate Seed Points Based on Information Entropy and Quadtree

“…To solve the inconvenience of irregular grids, we used mesh unit filling preprocessing (MUFP) to transform irregular grids into regular grids composed of many small square pixels. (1) For a 2D vector field, the random variable X in Eq. (1) refers to the possible directions of all vectors in the neighborhood of a sampling point in the vector field.…”

“…Among them, streamline analysis is the most common and important method as a method of multivariate data analysis. (1) The visualization technology of a vector field uses the tangent direction of a point on a streamline, which is always identical to the vector direction at that point. Therefore, the use of a streamline provides a full picture of a vector field.…”