MegaMol--A Prototyping Framework for Particle-Based Visualization

Visualization applications nowadays not only face increasingly larger datasets, but have to solve increasingly complex research questions. They often require more than a single algorithm and consequently a software solution will exceed the possibilities of simple research prototypes. Well-established systems intended for such complex visual analysis purposes have usually been designed for classical, mesh-based graphics approaches. For particle-based data, however, existing visualization frameworks are too generic - e.g. lacking possibilities for consistent low-level GPU optimization for high-performance graphics - and at the same time are too limited - e.g. by enforcing the use of structures suboptimal for some computations. Thus, we developed the system softwareMegaMol for visualization research on particle-based data. On the one hand, flexible data structures and functional module design allow for easy adaption to changing research questions, e.g. studying vapors in thermodynamics, solid material in physics, or complex functional macromolecules like proteins in biochemistry. Therefore, MegaMol is designed as a development framework. On the other hand, common functionality for data handling and advanced rendering implementations are available and beneficial for all applications. We present several case studies of work implemented using our system as well as a comparison to other freely available or open source systems.