A solid basis for cutting-edge graphical solutions
Open CASCADE Technology comes with its own component for visualization of 2D and 3D data. This lightweight component is a reasonable choice for rapid development of customer applications that require basic 2D/3D interactive visualization and selection capabilities. This is proven by many commercial customers using Open CASCADE Technology visualization capabilities.
Though relatively simple and compact, Open CASCADE Technology visualization component is a solid basis for cutting-edge graphical solutions in customer applications thus helping the users to utilize the full power of a modern GPU. In combination with our advanced visualization technologies, it can be used to implement anything you need to visualize your data.
The domains where the Open CASCADE Technology visualization component is used successfully vary from precision optics, machining, computed tomography to aviation, ship building, plant design and BIM (through the IFC file format). To get various input data into an application in order to visualize them, the users can benefit from Open CASCADE Technology Data Exchange modules and added-value software components.
More detailed information about OPEN CASCADE visualization solutions offered to our clients on the top of Open CASCADE Technology visualization component can be found in Industrial Visualization Solutions article.
The following key features of the component can be highlighted:
- The component has open architecture and can be adapted through its API to any specific application needs.
- It includes native support for Open CASCADE Technology CAD data as well as for many other typical elements of a 3D scene (meshes, textures, axes, color scale, dimensions, text labels, lines and markers).
- The low-level graphic renderer is based on OpenGL and GLSL graphics API and is fully compatible with desktop and mobile graphics (OpenGL ES). It runs on Windows, Linux, OS X, Android and iOS.
- With ANGLE project, the Open CASCADE Technology renderer can be used on even wider range of systems where other graphics API is available or preferred (e.g. Microsoft Direct3D). For integration with Microsoft Direct3D applications, a dedicated package is also included into Open CASCADE Technology.
- The component includes state-of-the-art algorithms: examples are interactive selection based on efficient acceleration structures (Bounding Volumes Hierarchy, BVH), efficient CPU-side presentation culling, ray tracing and path tracing.
- The component supports common types of stereoscopic rendering. It is also fully ready for fast integration with virtual reality (VR) applications and systems.
For more details see Visualization User's Guide.
The visualization of OCCT topological shapes by means of VTK library provided by VIS component is described in a separate VTK Integration Services User's Guide.
See also: E-learning & Training.