Scientific visualisation packages and tools
often have very different constraints than games or VR
environmental-rendering packages. They are normally focused on
providing rendering of a very simple but extremely large dataset,
which tends to make the use of immediate-mode rendering and low-level
operations more desirable.
Free-for-non-commercial
Molecular modelling framework
Interactive molecular graphics modelling platform.
Seems to be cross-platform. Quite good according to Steve Ludtke.
BSD
Visualizer for Numpy in IPython using PyOpenGL
glumpy is a fast-OpenGL based numpy visualization based on top of
PyOpenGL and IPython (for interactive sessions) that allows for the fast
vizualization of numpy arrays (mainly two dimensional). It had been
designed with efficiency in mind and if you want to have a sense of
what's going on in your simulation while it is running, then maybe
glumpy can help you.
GPL
Wrapper around Coin for Qt-based visualization tasks
Intends to provide reasonable platform for doing 3D work under Qt
with large data-sets. Uses Coin as the rendering engine, not based on
Pivy.
BSD
Scientific data visualizer written on top of VTK
MayaVi is a free, easy to use scientific
data visualizer. It provides a Tkinter GUI
Artistic License
Analysis and manipulation of molecular models
Molecular viewer and editor using
PyOpenGL.
Unknown
Visualisation of planetary datasets from NetCDF files
Built on top of
VTK,
TK/PMW GUI. Seems to be intended primarily for use by scientists
who need to see time-dependent changes in datasets across the
entire globe based on Lat/Long coordinate-indexed data-sets.
OSGPL ("Relaxed LGPL")
General-purpose C++ engine with Python binding
Large C++ rendering engine with what
looks to be a fairly large user base. Rendering quality is
rather good judging from the screenshots. Uses OpenGL for it's
rendering back-end. Rather minimal
homepage for the Python
wrapper.
BSD (but requires commercial or GPL Coin)
Wrapper for the Coin/Inventor Scenegraph Library
Pivy is a Coin binding for Python.
Coin is a high-level 3D graphics library with a C++
Application Programming Interface. Coin uses scene-graph
data structures to render real-time graphics suitable for
all kinds of scientific and engineering visualization
applications. Can be extended with
PyOpenGL. Includes loaders
for a number of common formats, including VRML97.
GPL
Scientific visualisation toolkit
Interactive molecular and particle visualization
Various visualization, plotting, and analysis tools for pre- and
post-processing of molecular dynamics simulation data. Tools can be
used via the command-line, Python scripting, or Tk GUIs.
LGPL
Virtual Reality engine with Python extension API
Large research project written in C++ with
Python either embedded in or embedding the engine. Focus appears
to be on the creation of a single API usable across all platforms
(at the C++ level).
CNRI Python
Molecular graphics system with embedded Python interpreter
PyMOL is a molecular graphics system with an embedded
Python interpreter designed for real-time visualization and
rapid generation of high-quality molecular graphics images
and animations. Can also edit PDB files.
GPL
Wrapper around 3D graphing library widgets for PyQt/PyQwt
SIP-based wrapper to a C++ class library providing
3D graphing of functions, data-sets and the like.
BSD (w/out advertising clause)
Package/tool to produce stimuli for psychology experiments
Provides simple mechanisms for generating stimuli
for psychology experiments with bitmap and text manipulations. The
primary goals are to provide for the busy scientist tools to control
timing and windowing and a simple set of pre-packaged stimuli.
GPL
Library porting Matlab NURBs facilities to Python
Unknown
Library for robotics explorations include OpenGL visualisation
Large AI/robotics project, lots of scientific tools
where the visualisation component is just a small part of the total.
MIT
Scientific visualization of water flow/effects
Provides a graphical interface for a particular
modeling mechanism (CHILD) which simulates water flow patterns
(such as streams and mudflows). Python interface to C++
visualization engine.
LGPL
Academic focus on user-interface design. Uses OpenGL to render (2D) SVG
graphics. Considered alpha quality.
CWI Python
Large collection of scientific modules including some 3D operations
Scientific Python is the first port-of-call for
those wishing to use Python for any sort of scientific work. Among
the large collection of code are numerous utilities which are useful
when writing low-level 3D code. There is also some code for exporting
VRML files (I believe version 1.0, however, not VRML97).
Custom, apparently free-for-non-commercial
Programming environment for visualisations
Lots of Python papers written about it.
Molecular biology focus AFAICS. Quite good according to Steve Ludtke.
Unknown
Package/tool to produce stimuli for vision research experiments
The Vision Egg is a high level interface between
Python and OpenGL. In addition to methods for automatic generation of
traditional visual stimuli such as sinusoidal gratings and random dot
patterns, it has a number of functions for moving numeric data, images,
movies, text, and 3D objects to and from your video card and allowing
use of some of its features like perspective distortion. Written on
top of
PyOpenGL.
GPL
PyOpenGL + wxPython wrapper around molecular visualisation tool
Vimes intends to provide tools to visualize molecules and materials,
perform simple manipulations of the structures, input/output the structures
to/from a variety of different file formats, and provide some tools for editing
options for the input files for a some different applications..
CNRI Python
3D Programming for Ordinary Mortals
Simple 3D scenegraph engine with focus on
educational rendering. Large user community, novice friendly. Not
really focused on cutting-edge rendering features or the like.
Uses a simple C/C++ engine wrapped for use by Python.
BSD-like (+ notification-of-changes)
Research/visualisation focused toolkit with strong Python bindings
VTK is a C++ retained-mode rendering engine
with fairly complete Python bindings. It has quite a few mechanisms
which attempt to make the process of visualising phenomena easier.
Embeddable in wxPython.
LGPL
Data-visualation of 1D to 4D array data
PyOpenGL-based renderer for scientific data using
scripting-friendly APIs.