The visual display of quantitative information
The visual display of quantitative information
User and task analysis for interface design
User and task analysis for interface design
The unified software development process
The unified software development process
Visualizing Human Consciousness Content Using Java3D/X3D and Psychological Techniques
IV '00 Proceedings of the International Conference on Information Visualisation
Architectural styles and the design of network-based software architectures
Architectural styles and the design of network-based software architectures
X3D-UML: enabling advanced UML visualisation through X3D
Web3D '05 Proceedings of the tenth international conference on 3D Web technology
Developing Artificial Life Simulations of Marine Biology and Exploring Measures of Complexity
EMS '08 Proceedings of the 2008 Second UKSIM European Symposium on Computer Modeling and Simulation
Extending the Web3D: design of conventional GUI libraries in X3D
Proceedings of the 15th International Conference on Web 3D Technology
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Scylla is Europe's first artificial reef and was created by the scuttling of a former Royal Navy frigate off the UK coast in Cornwall. As well as being a popular attraction for divers, the colonisation of the reef is of great interest to marine biologists. A recent research programme undertaken by the University of Birmingham in conjunction with the National Marine Aquarium (NMA) has delivered an interactive 3D model of the Scylla. The aim of this program is to promote a greater educational and scientific understanding of the fragility of marine ecosystems. In its current form, the Virtual Scylla exists as a "kiosk"-based exhibit, resulting in only limited hands-on access by visitors to the NMA. eXtensible 3D (X3D) is a royalty-free standard which makes it possible to deliver interactive 3D content over the World Wide Web. X3D has previously been used for scientific visualisation in many academic fields. The WebScylla project aims to create an X3D version of the Virtual Scylla which can be delivered over the Web for use as an extensible scientific and educational tool. A web application framework following the Model-View-Controller (MVC) design pattern is used to rapidly develop a 3D web application to visualise colonisation data relating the Scylla reef which is stored in a relational database. AJAX techniques are used to create a highly interactive and responsive user interface to this application using a hybrid of XHTML and X3D components. It is concluded that MVC frameworks can be a powerful tool for the rapid development of 3D web applications and are particularly suited to data-centric applications. Problems encountered and lessons learned include issues in developing effective user interfaces for visualisation tools using interactive computer graphics and a discussion of some limitations of existing X3D implementations.