IMNDT: Immersive workspace for the analysis of multidimensional material data from non-destructive testing

Abstract

An analysis of large multidimensional volumetric data as generated by non-destructive testing (NDT) techniques, e.g., X-ray computed tomography (XCT), can hardly be evaluated using standard 2D visualization techniques on desktop monitors. The analysis of fiber-reinforced polymers (FRPs) is currently a time-consuming and cognitively demanding task, as FRPs have a complex spatial structure, consisting of several hundred thousand fibers, each having more than twenty different extracted features. This paper presents ImNDT, a novel visualization system, which offers material experts an immersive exploration of multidimensional secondary data of FRPs. Our system is based on a virtual reality (VR) head-mounted device (HMD) to enable fluid and natural explorations through embodied navigation, the avoidance of menus, and manual mode switching. We developed immersive visualization and interaction methods tailored to the characterization of FRPs, such as a Model in Miniature, a similarity network, and a histo-book. An evaluation of our techniques with domain experts showed advantages in discovering structural patterns and similarities. Especially novices can strongly benefit from our intuitive representation and spatial rendering.