Shader Development for VR Tools for Confocal Microscope Data Visualization
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Grant: Scholars Academy
Cymantha Blackmon
College:
The Dorothy and George Hennings College of Science, Mathematics, and Technology
Major:
Computational Science & Engineering
Faculty Research Advisor(s):
David Joiner
Abstract:
This research extends upon prior developments of a user interface (UI) focusing on the visualization of 3D data collections derived from hyperstack images, including pollen grains and fruit fly stem cells captured using a confocal microscope. In addition, the visualizations have been refined to facilitate the manipulation of an adjustable cut plane object, offering features such as the display of multiple layers of the data while maintaining its integrity, dynamic movement (slide/rotate/drag), transparent viewing, and other color adjustments. The UI was designed using Unity Game Engine, and a customized vertex fragment shader was implemented using the CG shader language. The shader, linked to the aforementioned cut plane object, was updated to incorporate a property that correlates with the cut plane's position relative to the base position and normal vector. Expanding beyond a singular type of pollen, this research begins to establish a universal structure for discerning and selecting between various known pollen types. Other use cases of the visualization tool include pollen adjustments via external controllers, the addition of automated counting, and database creation for 3D pollen grain images. Future research includes the implementation of a multi-scene layout to visualize diverse pollen grains efficiently through Unity AssetBundles.