Screen-space silhouettes for visualizing ensembles of 3D isosurfaces

Abstract

Visualizing sets of isosurfaces from 3D scalar ensemble fields is a difficult task due to inherent occlusion effects, yet it is often required to analyze the uncertainty represented by such an ensemble. In this paper, we present a novel visualization technique for ensembles of isosurfaces based on screen-space silhouettes. By using silhouettes, the displayed information is reduced to avoid occlusions, yet the major shape of the surfaces can be maintained. Our approach preserves spatial coherence and does not make any assumption about the underlying surface distribution. By providing additional mechanisms, i.e., picking, clustering, cutting and animation, we enable the user to explore an ensemble of surfaces interactively.