Dynamic Visibility‐Driven Molecular Surfaces. (7th June 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Bruckner, Stefan
• Is Part Of: Computer graphics forum. Volume 38:Number 2(2019)
• Page Start: 317
• Page End: 329
• Publication Date: 2019-06-07
• Subjects: CCS Concepts -- Human‐centered computing → Scientific visualization -- Computing methodologies → Visibility -- Point‐based models; Computer graphics -- Periodicals; 006.605
• DOI: 10.1111/cgf.13640
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0167-7055

Abstract

Abstract: Molecular surface representations are an important tool for the visual analysis of molecular structure and function. In this paper, we present a novel method for the visualization of dynamic molecular surfaces based on the Gaussian model. In contrast to previous approaches, our technique does not rely on the construction of intermediate representations such as grids or triangulated surfaces. Instead, it operates entirely in image space, which enables us to exploit visibility information to efficiently skip unnecessary computations. With this visibility‐driven approach, we can visualize dynamic high‐quality surfaces for molecules consisting of millions of atoms. Our approach requires no preprocessing, allows for the interactive adjustment of all properties and parameters, and is significantly faster than previous approaches, while providing superior quality.