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X3DOM volume rendering component for web content developers

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Multimedia Tools and Applications
Authors:
Ander Arbelaiz at Vicomtech
Ander Arbelaiz
Aitor Moreno at Vicomtech
Aitor Moreno
Luis Kabongo at inHEART
Luis Kabongo
  • inHEART
Alejandro García-Alonso at University of the Basque Country
Alejandro García-Alonso
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We present a real-time volume rendering component for the Web, which provides a set of illustrative and non-photorealistic styles. Volume data is used in many scientific disciplines, requiring the visualization of the inner data, features for enhancing extracted characteristics or even coloring the volume. The Medical Working Group of X3D published a volume rendering specification. The next step is to build a component that realizes the functionalities defined by the specification. We have designed and built a volume rendering component integrated in the X3DOM framework. This component allows content developers to use the X3D specification. It combines and applies multiple rendering styles to several volume data types, offering a suitable tool for declarative volume rendering on the Web. As we show in the result section, the proposed component can be used in many fields that requires the visualization of multi-dimensional data, such as in medical and scientific fields. Our approach is based on WebGL and X3DOM, providing content developers with an easy and flexible declarative way of sharing and visualizing volumetric content over the Web.
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Multimed Tools Appl (2017) 76:13425–13454
DOI 10.1007/s11042-016-3743-1
X3DOM volume rendering component for web content
developers
Ander Arbelaiz1·Aitor Moreno1·Luis Kabongo1,2 ·
Alejandro Garc´
ıa-Alonso3
Received: 2 December 2014 / Revised: 4 April 2016 / Accepted: 30 June 2016 /
Published online: 15 July 2016
© Springer Science+Business Media New York 2016
Abstract We present a real-time volume rendering component for the Web, which provides
a set of illustrative and non-photorealistic styles. Volume data is used in many scientific
disciplines, requiring the visualization of the inner data, features for enhancing extracted
characteristics or even coloring the volume. The Medical Working Group of X3D published
a volume rendering specification. The next step is to build a component that realizes the
functionalities defined by the specification. We have designed and built a volume rendering
component integrated in the X3DOM framework. This component allows content develop-
ers to use the X3D specification. It combines and applies multiple rendering styles to several
volume data types, offering a suitable tool for declarative volume rendering on the Web.
As we show in the result section, the proposed component can be used in many fields that
requires the visualization of multi-dimensional data, such as in medical and scientific fields.
Our approach is based on WebGL and X3DOM, providing content developers with an easy
and flexible declarative way of sharing and visualizing volumetric content over the Web.
Keywords Volume rendering ·Web GL ·Declarative 3D ·X3DOM ·X3D
Ander Arbelaiz
aarbelaiz@vicomtech.org
Aitor Moreno
amoreno@vicomtech.org
Luis Kabongo
lkabongo@vicomtech.org
Alejandro Garc´
ıa-Alonso
alex.galonso@ehu.es
1Vicomtech-IK4, 20009 Donostia / San Sebasti´
an, Spain
2Biodonostia Health Research Institute, Donostia / San Sebasti´
an, Spain
3University of the Basque Country, Donostia / San Sebasti´
an, Spain
Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. Rights reserved.
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... As stated before, WebGL 1.0 does not support this texture type, so we have to make use of the ImageTextureAtlas again. Arbelaiz et al. (2016b) have extended the ImageTextureAtlas approach to adapt its use to the other nodes described in the current X3D v3.3 ISO speci cation (Web3DConsortium 2017). In this manner, we can proceed to apply illustrative and non-photorealistic styles to the volume visualization. ...
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