CellUnity an Interactive Tool for Illustrative Visualization of Molecular Reactions

Information

• Publication Type: Bachelor Thesis
• Workgroup(s)/Project(s):
  • Visual Computing: Illustrative Visualization
• Date: September 2014
• Matrikelnummer: 1125229
• First Supervisor:
  • Ivan Viola
  • Mathieu Le Muzic

Abstract

CellUnity is a tool for interactive visualization of molecular reactions using the Unity game engine. Current mesoscale visualizations commonly utilize the results of particle-based simulations, which account for spatial information of each single particle and are supposed to mimic a realistic behavior of the metabolites. However, this approach employs stochastic simulation methods which do not offer any control over the visualized output. CellUnity, on the other hand, exploits the results of deterministic simulations which are purely quantitative and in that way offering full user control over the spatial locations of the reactions. The user is able to trigger reactions on demand instead of having to wait or search for a specific type of reaction event, while the quantities of displayed molecules would still be in accordance with real scientific data. CellUnity exploits the simulation results in real time and allows the user to freely modify simulation parameters while the system is running. The tool was realized in Unity, a cross-platform game engine that also comprises a free version with adequate functionality and therefore enables easy deployment of the project.

Additional Files and Images

Weblinks

No further information available.

BibTeX

@bachelorsthesis{Gehrer_Daniel_CUI,
  title =      "CellUnity an Interactive Tool for Illustrative Visualization
               of Molecular Reactions",
  author =     "Daniel Gehrer",
  year =       "2014",
  abstract =   "CellUnity is a tool for interactive visualization of
               molecular reactions using the Unity game engine. Current
               mesoscale visualizations commonly utilize the results of
               particle-based simulations, which account for spatial
               information of each single particle and are supposed to
               mimic a realistic behavior of the metabolites. However, this
               approach employs stochastic simulation methods which do not
               offer any control over the visualized output. CellUnity, on
               the other hand, exploits the results of deterministic
               simulations which are purely quantitative and in that way
               offering full user control over the spatial locations of the
               reactions. The user is able to trigger reactions on demand
               instead of having to wait or search for a specific type of
               reaction event, while the quantities of displayed molecules
               would still be in accordance with real scientific data.
               CellUnity exploits the simulation results in real time and
               allows the user to freely modify simulation parameters while
               the system is running. The tool was realized in Unity, a
               cross-platform game engine that also comprises a free
               version with adequate functionality and therefore enables
               easy deployment of the project.",
  month =      sep,
  address =    "Favoritenstrasse 9-11/E193-02, A-1040 Vienna, Austria",
  school =     "Institute of Computer Graphics and Algorithms, Vienna
               University of Technology ",
  URL =        "https://www.cg.tuwien.ac.at/research/publications/2014/Gehrer_Daniel_CUI/",
}