High performance WebGL for Visualization of Conjunction Analysis
Daniel Novák · SpaceOps 2014 Conference · 2014
The web browser is becoming one of the central platforms to run applications today. This is thanks to the ubiquity of machines that have one installed, the numerous and enthusiastic communities that develop on top of it and the common platform to build upon. Embracing bleeding edge web technologies gives the freedom to experiment with new and innovative ways of user interface and data visualisation. Due to the capital investment of industry, Web technologies are maturing at a fast pace and can be now exploited to run applications with high data processing needs, all this without any plug-ins. With WebGL (Web Graphics Library) one can tap into the resources of graphic cards and render realistic, visually compelling applications while keeping the application running completely fluidly. Therefore, the computational barriers for significantly improving the user experience are greatly reduced, such that the software designer can concentrate on where the real value lies: the software architecture and algorithms to extract useful information out of large data sets and ways to present information in the most ergonomic way. CGI decided to experiment with modern browsers using JavaScript, HTML5, WebGL, and THREE.js and apply them to visualise the space debris environment around the Earth. The objective was to ease a satellite operator’s effort to visualise debris conjunction data and understand the situation immediately and with no ambiguity. Realizing the close similarity to the challenges of some modern computer games, these were used as example references and a designer from the gaming industry was employed to develop the user interface. ESA helped drive the set of features to implement. We experienced a significant decrease in development time in comparison with building a traditional desktop application. There is no installation for end users, which is beneficial for operators and developers and the distribution is straightforward. Moreover, the used technologies’ licenses are commercially friendly so there is no risk of encountering commercial difficulties when running on top of existing software. The resulting user interface is highly responsive and has a modern look and feel. A live demo will be presented during the talk, illustrating the real potential of these web technologies.