CubeWhirl

CubeWhirl is the result of a research project I conducted at the Visualization Research Center (VISUS) of the University of Stuttgart during my Masters studies there. In a collaboration with the Institute of Aerospace Thermodynamics (ITLR), the goal was to develop a virtual reality visualization tool for spatiotemporal flow data generated by experiments at the ITLR.

The spatiotemporal data contains positional recordings of particles in a flow channel over multiple time steps. These data points can be visualized using a space-time cube, with each small cube representing one particle in space and time, and the opacity signalling the flow strength at this location. The data is fed from a Python backend and then rendered into a 3D mesh and displayed in Unity, where it can be interacted with in virtual reality.

Other features include adjusting the time interval by grabbing and stretching the sides of the cubes, or merging multiple cubes together to compare different datasets. The tool performed well during user studies conducted with researchers at the ITLR, even with those unexperienced with virtual reality technology.