Multidisciplinary Scientific Visualization in European R&D Projects - Visual Computing: Scientific Visualization and Imaging Systems - page 4

1. software development process of such engineering software tools and later on
2. engineering best practices, as integrated part of such software tools, enhancing
the end-user functionality.
1.1.1 Modeling and Simulation
The SV software has established itself as an integral part of the Modeling and
Simulation (M&S) software tools [ 7 , 8 ].
The model or better saying multiple of them—the models, are the core data
elements in the multidisciplinary M&S engineering software, enabling the simu-
lation—a process of approximating the real-world things (products, events…), by
covering the three fundamental elements in the M&S process [ 9 ]:
1. Modeling—creating the models
2. Simulation—approximating models behavior
3. Analysis—drawing conclusions through models verification and validation
In which the above-mentioned basic elements are tightly coupled with the SV
components in order to sustain:
• ability to represent models,
• way to interface with models,
• M&S as the problem-based discipline that allows for the repeated testing of the
investigated hypothesis.
SV presence, providing the advanced visualization functionality through the
introduced M&S precepts, is expected to underpin the future research and new
products developments, when treating multidisciplinary engineering applications
domains.
1.1.2 Collaborative Environments
The collaborative environments [ 10 ] are becoming indispensable working instru-
ments, which will draw from and integrate together a large variety of different
scientific disciplines, professions, researchers, and engineering technologies.
This will be achieved by bringing together their methods and insights, in an
easy-to-use way and in an operationally efficient manner. In the example shown in
Fig. 1.1 , different expert groups present in the aircraft design process involve
together a variety of different engineering domains. They need interactions and
exchange of pertinent information in order to come up with an appropriate aircraft
design, which has to fulfill the variety of multidisciplinary requirements. The 3D
visualization models are often used across such multidisciplinary teams to dem-
onstrate and visualize the envisaged solutions in a focused problem-oriented way.
An important requirement for such collaborative visualization environment is the