Use Of Interactive Graphics Research Articles

Modelling the Environmental Impacts of Urban Road Traffic with MULATM-POLDIF: A PC-Based System with Interactive Graphics

The energy and environmental implications of traffic movements through road networks at the local level (that is, 'dense' road networks) are considered. This level is becoming of critical importance in traffic planning, particularly for regional and local government agencies. The development and application of the mulatm-poldif modelling system are described. This system provides planners with a pc-based methodology for addressing traffic problems, and for assessing the environmental and energy implications of traffic management and land-use development proposals, at the local level. Both mulatm and poldif make extensive use of interactive graphics as a means to display and interpret the model outputs. This facility greatly enhances the usefulness of the models. An example of the application of the modelling system is given. This describes its use in evaluating the impacts of a major urban highway construction project.(a)

PROVIDE: a process visualization and debugging environment

The author introduces PROVIDE, a source-level process visualization and debugging environment currently under development at the University of Illinois at Chicago. PROVIDE is a modern coding and debugging environment that is designed to allow the user to configure interaction at a desired level of abstraction. It emphasizes the use of interactive computer graphics for the illustration of program execution, with special attention to the requirements of program debugging. The major features of PROVIDE are presented, especially the concepts of deferred-binding program animation, which allows users to interactively change the depiction of program execution during the debugging task, and process history consistency maintenance, which guarantees a consistent (automatically updated) record of program execution in the face of changes to program instructions and run-time data values. The current PROVIDE prototype is implemented on Macintosh workstations networked to a VAX 11/780 running 4.2 BSD Unix.< <ETX xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">&gt;</ETX>

CALCE/RAMCAD for Electronics

The University of Maryland's Computer Aided Life Cycle Engineering (CALCE) research effort is aimed at developing techniques for design, analysis, prediction, and optimization of electronics with respect to a variety of design goals. Performance, producibility, reliability, maintainability, life-cycle cost, safety, etc., are the design criteria which are being integrated through the application of interactive heuristic and algorithmic design optimization techniques. The University of Maryland Reliability and Maintainability Computer-Aided Design (RAMCAD) research is CALCE and is focused on second- and third-level electronic package design with respect to interfacing thermal, mechanical, and reliability analysis. The goal is to make reliability and maintainability an integral, real-time, and upfront part of the design process, such that the need to resubmit designs will be eliminated. The motivation behind this project was the fact that schedule constraints are often compromising the effectiveness and efficiency of the design process. To achieve the goal of CALCE/RAMCAD, a cohesive and extensible design environment for analysis and tradeoff tools was developed. A system executive controller that integrates tools for analysis while providing system transparency, design data management, and process management was developed to guide the user through the design process and provide direct access to the design tools. These developments required the integration of computer-aided design (CAD), artificial intelligence (AI), and decision support (DS) techniques. Attention to human factors and the use of interactive graphics were also instrumental in the development.

Computer-aided robot modeling, programming and simulation

The use of interactive computer graphics for simulation and off line programming provides a powerful tool in implementing robots. This capability essentially became available with the CAD/CAM system. This paper will present the theory of robot modeling and simulation techniques. An overview of CAD/CAM system in robotic application, such as robot off-line programming, simulation and workcell layout will also be represented.

A DSS generator for district planning

This paper describes the experience of the authors in designing a decision support system ( DSS) for district planning. The iterative nature of the planning process, the need for flexible analysis of large volume of detailed data, the need for frequent interaction with the database, and the potential use of interactive graphics make the context ideal for design of a DSS. The evolution of a DSS Generator through several stages of software designs is highlighted. A proposal is then made for a DSS Generator which will add enough power to existing software that already provides the flexibility needed to cover many application domains in district planning.

Computers and rural development in India

Abstract The paper describes the use of computer‐based decision models for rural infrastructure planning, applied to develop a plan for the Dharampur taluka (sub‐district) in Gujarat State, NW India. The optimization models developed produce location choices for service centre locations and road networks that are substantially better than those made by non‐computer methods. They also provide valuable insight into the trade‐off between spending more on infrastructure and providing better access. An interesting feature is the use of interactive computer graphics for communicating with decision makers.

Optimum design of reinforced concrete frames using interactive computer graphics

An integrated approach of the design and optimization problem of reinforced concrete frames, based on the use of interactive computer graphics is presented. The formulation of the optimization problem in terms of all the design variables and constraints is given. The size of the problem is greatly reduced if reinforcement areas are considered as dependent variables. A fully stressed design method is employed to optimize an automatically generated initial design. Analysis and design results plots, including complete reinforcement drawings, are available to designers, helping them to evaluate the current status of the design and allowing them to direct the entire computation process.

The use of interactive graphics in exploration and mine planning

Underwater wireless optical communication (UWOC) is an emerging and feasible underwater communication technology and has developed rapidly in recent years. Building a high-performance and practical UWOC system requires comprehensive consideration and optimization design from the device to the system, as well as from the internal modulation to the external environment. This paper provides an overview of the recent developments in UWOC systems, covering aspects about the system transmitters and receivers, advanced modulation formats and underwater channels. Some key technologies to improve transmission capacity of UWOC are classified and summarized to provide guidance for system design. The main challenges and perspectives to achieve a reliable UWOC system are also mentioned. The summary and analysis of these advances and techniques will shed light on the future development of UWOC technology and assist in the construction of the internet of underwater things.

Computer - Aided Design of Industrial Automation

In recent years, computers with their great computational power have assumed very important role in the logic design of industrial digital control systems. The implementation of large-scale digital systems is an example of one design problem which can be impractical to solve by hand. How to enable production engineer to improve the existing control network, or to design the absolutely new one, presuming, as it is very olten, that he is not a control design specialist. On the basis of new technological demands, an engineer should form a desired control specification which represent the input format to available computer. Computer should produce desired logic equations as a basis for the immediate realization, since the system is reliable and minimal in sense of number of required components. Software for complete design of digital control networks will be presented in the paper. It is applicable for treating deterministic as well as stochastic systems, both combinational and sequential etc. The concept of use of interactive computer graphics and other available computer aids in synthesis process is given. A relevant example is included in order to illustrate the program package.

Modelling the ATP-binding site of oncogene products, the epidermal growth factor receptor and related proteins

A three-dimensional model for the ATP-binding site of the oncogene product v-src is proposed by the use of interactive computer graphics. A similar model would apply to sequence related proteins such as other oncogene products, the epidermal growth factor receptor, cAMP-dependent protein kinase and the cell division control protein CDC28. The model was proposed on the basis of the conservation of certain key residues between the oncogene product family of proteins and several nucleotide binding proteins of known structures.

Seeing what your programs are doing

The advent of personal computers with high resolution displays and pointing devices will permit a drastic improvement in the quality of user interfaces for programming environments. Programming environments already are beginning to make use of interac-tive graphics as a tooi for helping us visualize the operation of programs we write. Watching a program work step-by-step, where each step is reflected in visible changes to the display screen, greatly facilitates understanding of the internal workings of a program. But the power of interactive graphics for program visualization has yet to be exploited in a programming environment as a tooi for creating programs, as opposed to merely observing already-written programs. Tinker is a programming environment for Lisp in which a program is constructed by demonstrating its steps on representative examples, and the system displays graphically the result of each step as it is performed. The programmer can “see what the program is doing” while the program is being constructed. The processes of writing a program and debugging it on test cases are combined into a single interactive activity, rather than separated as they are in conventional programming environments. To help the reader visualize the operation of Tinker itself, an example is presented of how Tinker may be used to construct an alpha-beta tree search program.

Computer aids for reliability

Hydraulic structures are coming up fast in India to meet the growing needs of irrigation, power for modern development, and multi-story buildings for a growing population. These structures are being located in the Himalayas and new techniques are being increasingly used in construction. The geological features of the weak rocks in the Himalayas present special problems for the foundations in housing, roads, irrigation structures etc. including tunnels. Additional instruments were fabricated together with new techniques and computer aids, affording reliability in the construction works in these regions. Equipment costs were controlled by current modern methods, new techniques of graphical coordination of Plant usage were carried out and close coordination was affected in speeding up the construction. The use of interactive graphics for simulating construction by computer aids was adopted.

Interactive graphics in structural analysis

Interactive computer graphics which implies a continuous exchange of information between the computer and the user has emerged as a very powerful tool in engineering applications. Computer-aided design (CAD) and computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) have found use in electronic circuit design, manufacturing, mapping, and architectural and engineering planning. Using CAD, a machine part, an electric circuit, or a building plan can be drawn and displayed on a video terminal. The product or plan can then be manipulated, rotated, viewed from different angles, or separated into segments. The graphic and attribute information related to the drawing is stored in a data base, and can be retrieved and modified at any time. At a more sophisticated level of CAD, the data base is used to generate input data for a finite element or another analysis program. This paper presents a brief survey of the CAD scene and the hardware and software available and describes the use of interactive graphics in generating data input for analysis.

The Use of Interactive Graphics in Electromagnetic Problems

This paper illustrates the use of interactive graphics in the solution of two dimensional electromagnetics problems. The program described uses both finite elements and/or boundary elements, and solves for the magnetic vector potential or electric vector potential.

A graphical CAL program for Fourier series

The program described makes use of interactive computer graphics to enhance students' understanding of the physical principles, as a separate exercise from learning to become fluent in the mathematical procedures. The program is a suitable introduction for sixth-formers, who would not encounter the mathematics until undergraduate level. The program allows the user to choose one of four pre-set functions, or to 'draw' a simple function of his own, if the graphics terminal is equipped with a steerable graphics cursor. Various options allow the display of any chosen number of periods, possibly with a shift of origin, and then individual terms in the Fourier series, or partial sums, can be superimposed. An alternative display plots the spectrum of (discrete) frequency components for the chosen function.

Examples of the use of interactive computer graphics with real-time energy calculations in studies of protein–ligand interactions and in drug design

Examples of the use of interactive computer graphics with real-time energy calculations in studies of protein–ligand interactions and in drug design

Use of Interactive Computer Graphics to Solve Routing Problems

AbstractAn interactive computer graphics package to solve vehicle routing problems is presented in this paper. It uses computer graphics interactively to direct the use of a hybrid algorithm to solve individual routing problems. This ability permits the user judiciously to tailor improved versions of existing algorithms to individual routing problems to alleviate the shortcomings of individual algorithms while capitalizing on their favorable characteristics. The interactive computer graphics package is designed to permit an individual with little or no training in vehicle routing to find near optimal routes for a real problem in a short period of time.

Computer graphics in civil engineering at RPI

The use of interactive computer graphics in civil engineering education at RPI is discussed. Emphasis is placed on how specific software packages are used in courses to increase a student's understanding of basic problem behavior and to reduce the effort required to generate meaningful problem inputs for computer solution.

CADAM" Data Handling from Conceptual Design through Product Support

The use of interactive computer graphics for data handling in aircraft design, manufacturing, and product support is discussed. The software used is the Lockheed-California Company Computer-graphics Augmented Design and Manufacturing (CADAM) system and the Independent Research and Development program CADATA. Starting with the conceptual design three view on CAD AM, configuration geometry is then available through CADATA for use by the analytic users for developing the design to achieve the desired performance and cost. CADAM provides a common data base of the selected vehicle design for all user disciplines: preliminary design, loft, production design, tool design, numerical control part programming, quality control, and product support. Examples of the use of CADAM and CADATA are given to illustrate the cost savings and reduced time spans achieved.

Interactive computer graphics at Ford Motor Company

Over the past fourteen years the Ford Motor Company actively pursued the development and use of interactive computer graphics in the design and manufacture of automobiles. The success of Ford's pioneering efforts in the area of minicomputer graphics led to widespread acceptance and support for graphics within the corporation. This in turn led to a rapid expansion of computer graphics equipment. The advent of numerous Federal regulations in the areas of fuel economy, emissions control, and safety has generated additional Corporate interest in the use of computer graphics to help solve these difficult problems. Use of the Ford Computer Graphics System, as well as various commercially available turnkey computer graphics systems, has contributed substantially to cost reductions, improved productivity, and better documentation and control. This paper describes the on-going computer graphics effort at Ford Motor Company. A brief history of computer graphics is presented along with a detailed description of the Ford Computer Graphics System and the commercial systems. A few applications involving the various graphics systems are discussed. These include design activity at several design and manufacturing areas which are major users of graphics equipment. Next, four computer graphics-related projects presently receiving considerable attention are described. They include communications between graphics systems, a graphics information system and the use of graphics in both structural analysis and numerical control. Finally, some indication of where computer graphics is headed in the future is presented.