Trends in
Visualisation
Chan, Howard1, Cliff Lovelock2
(1) Shell International E&P, N/A, TX (2) Shell International Exploration,
N/A,
The visualisation and collaboration
environment has changed considerably since Shell built its first large scale VR
room in
In the same way, the computers that drive
these rooms have also changed. We have seen a migration from SGI Onyx servers
towards high-end Linux, Unix and PC workstations that
are more similar to those interpreters have on their desktops. In the process
these machines offer much more RAM and faster CPUs.
However, more RAM means more data to
display. Our current challenge is to improve the throughput of polygons and
voxels from CPU/GPU to screen. In part this is addressed by improvements in
graphics card technology being delivered by the commodity card manufacturers. But
we are also looking at software and other middleware to maximize the graphics
power available in our VR and desktop Linux boxes.
For such an advanced technology, virtual
reality has remained in stasis for a long time. Finally, though, we are able to
see a future that is free of niche hardware and is accessible and flexible
enough to be a part of the everyday workflow.
AAPG Search and Discover Article #90063©2007 AAPG Annual Convention, Long Beach, California