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{{Short description|Method for visualizing vector fields}}
[[File:Rotation of the Large Magellanic Cloud ESA393163.png|thumb|right|
In [[scientific visualization]], '''line integral convolution''' ('''LIC''') is a method to visualize a [[vector field]] (such as [[fluid motion]]) at high spatial resolutions.<ref name="Stalling 1995" /> The LIC technique was first proposed by Brian Cabral and Leith Casey Leedom in 1993.<ref name="Cabral 1993">{{cite conference |last1=Cabral |first1=Brian |last2=Leedom |first2=Leith Casey |date=August 2–6, 1993 |title=Imaging Vector Fields Using Line Integral Convolution |conference=SIGGRAPH '93 |___location=Anaheim, California |pages=263–270 |citeseerx=10.1.1.115.1636 |doi=10.1145/166117.166151 |isbn=0-89791-601-8 |book-title=Proceedings of the 20th annual conference on Computer graphics and interactive techniques}}</ref>
▲[[File:Rotation of the Large Magellanic Cloud ESA393163.png|thumb|right|The Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC), one of the nearest galaxies to our Milky Way. This image was created with LIC]]
In LIC, discrete numerical [[Line integral|line integration]] is performed along the [[field line]]s (curves) of the vector field on a [[Regular grid|uniform grid]]. The integral operation is a [[convolution]] of a filter [[Kernel (image processing)|kernel]] and an input texture, often [[white noise]].<ref name="Stalling 1995" /> In [[signal processing]], this process is known as a [[Convolution#Discrete convolution|discrete convolution]].<ref name=":0">[https://web.cs.wpi.edu/~matt/courses/cs563/talks/flowvis/lic.html Line Integral Convolution for Flow Visualization by Dr. Matthew O. Ward]</ref>▼
==
Traditional visualizations of vector fields use small arrows or lines to represent vector direction and magnitude. This method has a low spatial resolution, which limits the density of presentable data and risks obscuring characteristic features in the data.<ref name="Stalling 1995" /><ref name=":0" /> More sophisticated methods, such as [[Streamlines, streaklines, and pathlines|streamlines]] and particle tracing techniques, can be more revealing but depend highly on proper seed points.<ref name="Stalling 1995" /> Texture-based methods, like LIC, avoid these problems since they depict the entire vector field at point-like (pixel) resolution.<ref name="Stalling 1995" />
▲In [[signal processing]] this process is known as [[Convolution#Discrete convolution|discrete convolution]].<ref>[https://web.cs.wpi.edu/~matt/courses/cs563/talks/flowvis/lic.html Line Integral Convolution for Flow Visualization by Dr. Matthew O. Ward]</ref>
Compared to other
▲Compared to other [[Integral|integration]]-based techniques that compute [[field line]]s of the input vector field, LIC has the advantage that all structural features of the vector field are displayed, without the need to adapt the start and end points of field lines to the specific vector field. In other words, it shows the topology of the vector field.
In user testing, LIC was found to be particularly good for identifying critical points.<ref name="Laidlaw 2001">{{cite conference | first1 = David H. | last1 = Laidlaw | first2 = Robert M. | last2 = Kirby | first3 = J. Scott | last3 = Davidson | first4 = Timothy S. | last4 = Miller | first5 = Marco | last5 = da Silva | first6 = William H. | last6 = Warren | first7 = Michael J. | last7 = Tarr | title = Quantitative Comparative Evaluation of 2D Vector Field Visualization Methods | book-title = IEEE Visualization 2001, VIS '01. Proceedings | date = October 21–26, 2001 | place = San Diego, CA, USA | pages = 143–150}}</ref>
With the availability of high-performance GPU-based implementations, the former disadvantage of limited interactivity is no longer present.
Since LIC
▲LIC takes texture as an input and gives texture ( output). So it is texture synthesis.
== Algorithm ==
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=== Informal description ===
Intuitively, the process can be understood with the following example: the flow of a
* whorl patterns of paint, oil, or foam on a river
* visualisation of [[magnetic field]] lines using [[:commons:Category:Magnetised iron filings|randomly distributed iron filings]]
*
▲Intuitively, the flow of a [[vector field]] in some ___domain is visualized by adding a static random pattern of dark and light paint sources. As the flow passes by the sources, each parcel of fluid picks up some of the source color, averaging it with the color it has already acquired in a manner similar to throwing paint in a river. The result is a random striped texture where points along the same streamline tend to have similar color.
=== Formal mathematical description ===
Although the input vector field and the result image are discretized, it pays to look at it from a continuous viewpoint.<ref name="Stalling 1995">{{cite conference | first1 = Detlev | last1 = Stalling | first2 = Hans-Christian | last2 = Hege | title = Fast and Resolution Independent Line Integral Convolution | citeseerx = 10.1.1.45.5526 | book-title = Proceedings of the 22nd Annual Conference on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques | conference = SIGGRAPH '95 | date = August 6–11, 1995 | ___location = Los Angeles, California | pages = [https://archive.org/details/computergraphics00sigg/page/249 249–256] | doi = 10.1145/218380.218448 | isbn = 0-89791-701-4 | url = https://archive.org/details/computergraphics00sigg/page/249 }}</ref> Let <math>\mathbf{v}</math> be the vector field given in some ___domain <math>\Omega</math>. Although the input vector field is typically discretized, we regard the field <math>\mathbf{v}</math> as defined in every point of <math>\Omega</math>, i.e. we assume an [[interpolation]]. Streamlines, or more generally field lines, are tangent to the vector field in each point. They end either at the boundary of <math>\Omega</math> or at critical points where <math>\mathbf{v}=\mathbf{0}</math>. For the sake of simplicity,
A field line <math>\boldsymbol \sigma</math>, parametrized by arc length <math>s</math>, is defined as <math display="block">\frac{d\boldsymbol \sigma (s)}{ds} = \frac{\mathbf{v}(\boldsymbol {\sigma}(s))}{|\mathbf{v}(\boldsymbol{\sigma}(s))|}.</math> :<math>D(\mathbf{r}) = \int_{-L/2}^{L/2} k(s)N(\boldsymbol{\sigma}_{\mathbf{r}}(s)) ds</math>
where <math>k(s)</math> is the convolution kernel, <math>N(\mathbf{r})</math> is the noise image, and <math>L</math> is the length of field line segment that is followed.
<math>D(\mathbf{r})</math> has to be computed for each pixel in the LIC image. If carried out naively, this is quite expensive. First,
The
Different choices of convolution kernels and random noise produce different textures
===
Algorithmically,
==Versions==
===Basic===
[[File:Line integral convolution visualisation.png|thumb|Basic LIC visualization of a flow field
Basic LIC images are grayscale images, without color and animation. While such LIC
===Color===
[[File:Line integral convolution visualisation (color).png|thumb|LIC
The length of the vectors (or the strength of the field) is usually coded in color; alternatively, animation can be used.<ref name="Cabral 1993" /><ref name="Stalling 1995" />
===
[[File:Animated LIC.svg|thumb|Illustration on how to animate. Above: Normal [[Box Filter]] (average). Middle: Sinusoidal Filter at <math>t</math>. Bottom: Sinusoidal Filter at <math>t + \delta t</math>]]
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LIC images can be animated by using a kernel that changes over time. Samples at a constant time from the streamline would still be used, but instead of averaging all pixels in a streamline with a static kernel, a ripple-like kernel constructed from a periodic function multiplied by a [[Hann function]] acting as a window (in order to prevent artifacts) is used. The periodic function is then shifted along the period to create an animation.
=== Fast LIC (FLIC)===
The computation can be significantly accelerated by re-using parts of already computed field lines, specializing to a box function as convolution kernel <math>k(s)</math> and avoiding redundant computations during convolution.<ref name="Stalling 1995" /> The resulting fast LIC method can be generalized to convolution kernels that are arbitrary polynomials.<ref name="Hege 1998">{{Citation | first1 = Hans-Christian | last1 = Hege | first2 = Detlev | last2 = Stalling | chapter = Fast LIC with Piecewise Polynomial Filter Kernels | editor-last = Hege | editor-first = Hans-Christian | editor2-last = Polthier | editor2-first = Konrad | title = Mathematical Visualization | pages = 295–314 | publisher = Springer-Verlag | ___location = Berlin, Heidelberg | citeseerx = 10.1.1.31.504 | doi = 10.1007/978-3-662-03567-2_22 | isbn = 978-3-642-08373-0| year = 1998 }}</ref>
===Oriented Line Integral Convolution (OLIC)===
Because LIC does not encode flow orientation, it cannot distinguish between streamlines of equal direction but opposite orientation.<ref name=":1" /> Oriented Line Integral Convolution (OLIC) solves this issue by using a ramp-like asymmetric kernel and a low-density noise texture.<ref name=":1" /> The kernel asymmetrically modulates the intensity along the streamline, producing a trace that encodes orientation; the low-density of the noise texture prevents smeared traces from overlapping, aiding readability.
* Fast Rendering of Oriented Line Integral Convolution ( FROLIC)<ref>[https://www.cg.tuwien.ac.at/research/vis/dynsys/frolic/frolic%20crc.pdf Fast Oriented Line Integral Convolution for Vector Field Visualization via the Internet by Rainer Wegenkittl and Eduard Gr¨oller]</ref><ref>[https://www.cg.tuwien.ac.at/research/vis/dynsys/frolic/ Java Exploration Tool for Dynamical Systems by R. Wegenkittl and E. Gröller.]</ref>▼
▲
=== UFLIC ===▼
=== Unsteady Flow LIC (UFLIC) ===
For time-dependent vector fields ( unsteady flow) a variant (UFLIC = Unsteady Flow LIC), has been designed that maintains the coherence of the flow animation.<ref name="Shen 1998">{{cite journal | last1 = Shen | first1 = Han-Wei | last2 = Kam | first2 = David L. | title = A New Line Integral Convolution Algorithm for Visualizing Time-Varying Flow Fields | journal = IEEE Trans Vis Comput Graph | volume = 4 | issue = 2 | pages = 98–108 | publisher = IEEE | ___location = Los Alamitos | url = http://web.cse.ohio-state.edu/~shen.94/Research/Gravity/Project_2_files/Shen1998a.pdf | year = 1998 | issn = 1077-2626 | doi = 10.1109/2945.694952 }}</ref>▼
▲For time-dependent vector fields (
Since the computation of a LIC image is expensive but inherently parallel, it has also been parallelized<ref name="Zoeckler 1996">{{cite journal | last1 = Zöckler | first1 = Malte | last2 = Stalling | first2 = Detlev | last3 = Hege | first3 = Hans-Christian | title = Parallel Line Integral Convolution | journal = Parallel Computing | volume = 23 | issue = 7 | pages = 975–989 | publisher = North Holland | ___location = Amsterdam | url = http://www.zib.de/visual-publications/sources/src-1996/parLIC.pdf | year = 1997 | issn = 0167-8191 | doi = 10.1016/S0167-8191(97)00039-2 }}</ref> and, with availability of GPU-based implementations, it has become interactive on PCs. Also for UFLIC an interactive GPU-based implementation has been presented.<ref name="Ding 2015">{{cite conference | first1 = Zi'ang | last1 = Ding | first2 = Zhanping | last2 = Liu | first3 = Yang | last3 = Yu | first4 = Wei | last4 = Chen | title = Parallel unsteady flow line integral convolution for high-performance dense visualization | book-title = 2015 IEEE Pacific Visualization Symposium, PacificVis 2015 | place = Hangzhou, China | pages = 25–30 | year = 2015}}</ref>▼
▲Since the computation of
===Multidimensional===
Note that the ___domain <math>\Omega</math> does not have to be a 2D ___domain: the method is applicable to higher dimensional domains using multidimensional noise fields. However, the visualization of the higher-dimensional LIC texture is problematic; one way is to use interactive exploration with 2D slices that are manually positioned and rotated. The ___domain <math>\Omega</math> does not have to be flat either; the LIC texture can be computed also for arbitrarily shaped 2D surfaces in 3D space.<ref name="Battke 1997">{{cite book | first1 = Henrik | last1 = Battke | first2 = Detlev | last2 = Stalling | first3 = Hans-Christian | last3 = Hege | chapter = Fast Line Integral Convolution for Arbitrary Surfaces in 3D | editor1-first = Hans-Christian | editor1-last = Hege | editor2-first = Konrad | editor2-last = Polthier | title = Visualization and Mathematics: Experiments, Simulations, and Environments | url = https://archive.org/details/visualizationmat00fran | url-access = limited | publisher = [[Springer Science+Business Media|Springer]] | ___location = Berlin, New York | pages = [https://archive.org/details/visualizationmat00fran/page/n191 181]–195 | year = 1997 | citeseerx = 10.1.1.71.7228 | doi = 10.1007/978-3-642-59195-2_12| isbn = 3-540-61269-6 }}</ref>
==Applications==
This technique has been applied to a wide range of problems since it first was published in 1993
Representing vector fields:
* water flow mapping
Artistic effects for image generation and stylization:
Terrain generalization:
*
▲** flow-visualization method for steady ( time independent) flows.<ref>[https://daac.hpc.mil/gettingStarted/Line%20Integral%20Convolution.html DAAC: Line Integral Convolution]</ref> Here field lines are called [[Streamlines, streaklines, and pathlines|streamlines]]
▲** Visual exploration of 2D autonomous dynamical systems<ref>[https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/0143-0807/36/3/035007 Visual exploration of 2D autonomous dynamical systems Thomas Müller2,1 and Filip Sadlo1 Published 26 February 2015 • © 2015 IOP Publishing Ltd European Journal of Physics, Volume 36, Number 3]</ref>
▲** windy maps<ref>[http://hint.fm/wind/ A real-time map of the wind in the U.S. by Fernanda Viégas and Martin Wattenberg.]</ref>
▲*** automatic pencil drawing generation technique using LIC pencil filter<ref>[https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/1323994?arnumber=1323994 S. Yamamoto, Xiaoyang Mo and A. Imamiya, "Enhanced LIC pencil filter," Proceedings. International Conference on Computer Graphics, Imaging and Visualization, 2004. CGIV 2004., 2004, pp. 251-256, doi: 10.1109/CGIV.2004.1323994.]</ref>
▲** Automatic generation of hair texture<ref>[https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/859772?arnumber=859772 Xiaoyang Mao, M. Kikukawa, K. Kashio and A. Imamiya, "Automatic generation of hair texture with line integral convolution," 2000 IEEE Conference on Information Visualization. An International Conference on Computer Visualization and Graphics, 2000, pp. 303-308, doi: 10.1109/IV.2000.859772.]</ref>
▲** creating marbling texture<ref>[https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/604471.604489 Xiaoyang Mao, Toshikazu Suzuki, and Atsumi Imamiya. 2003. AtelierM: a physically based interactive system for creating traditional marbling textures. In Proceedings of the 1st international conference on Computer graphics and interactive techniques in Australasia and South East Asia (GRAPHITE '03). Association for Computing Machinery, New York, NY, USA, 79–ff. https://doi.org/10.1145/604471.604489]</ref>
▲* Terrain generalization: creating generalized [[Terrain cartography#Shaded relief|shaded relief]]<ref>[https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/15230406.2020.1833762 Bernhard Jenny (2021) Terrain generalization with line integral convolution, Cartography and Geographic Information Science, 48:1, 78-92, DOI: 10.1080/15230406.2020.1833762]</ref>
==Implementations==
* [https://github.com/RaymondMcGuire/GPU-Based-Image-Processing-Tools GPU Based Image Processing Tools by Raymond McGuire]
* [https://www.paraview.org/Wiki/ParaView/Line%20Integral%20Convolution ParaView : Line Integral Convolution]
* [https://github.com/andresbejarano/2DFlowVisualization A 2D flow visualization tool based on LIC and RK4. Developed using C++ and VTK. by
* [https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/LineIntegralConvolutionPlot.html Wolfram Research (2008), LineIntegralConvolutionPlot, Wolfram Language function, https://reference.wolfram.com/language/ref/LineIntegralConvolutionPlot.html (updated 2014).]
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