Dynamic Entity Data Visualization in Complex Spatial Environments Using Vertex Coloring: Unreal Engine Benchmark

Kurzfassung

Many human-machine interface (HMI) applications rely on a color-coded information visualization of individual entities within complex environments. When applying this method to 3D visualizations, especially in Virtual or Augmented Reality applications (VR/AR), challenges arise due to rising rendering demands as the number of dynamically colored entities increases. This paper presents a novel approach to allow for the dynamic visualization of data attached to singular entities within one environment using vertex coloring on a combined mesh. A benchmark on environments with varying amounts of entities is conducted to compare this novel approach to established methods that use materials on separate entity meshes. When combined with multithreading, vertex coloring shows significant improvements in keeping the frame rate stable and high enough (crucial for VR applications to prevent Visually Induced Motion Sickness), while having an acceptable delay between data changes and visualization updates. The practicality of the approach is demonstrated on an interactive VR situational awareness tabletop that dynamically applies color-coded data overlays on a virtual model of the Ahrtal region in Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, Germany.