Distorted visualization methods for convergent assembly

To get a complete picture of the physical layout of all the assembly levels of the convergent assembly in a nanofactory (which might be organized in a stack of coplanar layers) and see all of this in one single image at one glance one needs to project space in a nonlinear way.
Normal perspective (a linear projection) is unsuitable since it compresses most details towards the horizon. Instead a nonlinear polar logarithmic mapping is the best fit.

An additional difficulty is that a nanofactory as opposed to a map is inherently three dimensional so some cross cut has to be chosen. Whether that cross cut can be simply planar or not depends on the exact design choices taken in a concrete nanofactories design.

(wiki-TODO: add image [1] -- license?)

Displaying many scales and their relation simultaneously

This can be done by generalizing log polar mapping to 3D like so:

• x'(x,y,z) = pi/2 - atan2( z, sqrt(pow(x,2) + pow(y,2)) ) * cos(atan2(y,x)))
• y'(x,y,z) = pi/2 - atan2( z, sqrt(pow(x,2) + pow(y,2)) ) * sin(atan2(y,x)))
• z'(x,y,z) = log(pow(x,2) + pow(y,2) + pow(z,2)) / log(base)

Related

Distorted visualization methods (like e.g. the 3D log polar mapping visualization method) may also be useful to keep oriented in the visualizations of
abstract spaces other than concrete physical space. E.g. circuitry topology in very large software systems.

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• More generally: Visualization methods for gemstone metamaterial factories
• Challenges in the visualization of gem-gum factories

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• Visualizing the stratified nanofactory layers or other geometries that implements assembly levels.

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• Showing only what is needed at anyone time. Related: The software interface principle of "progressive disclosure".
• Drifting off-topic: General software issues

External Links

• Wikipedia on log polar mapping: Log-polar coordinates
• Wikipedia on the Mercator projection which becomes log polar near both poles: Mercator projection

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• An interactive online map spanning a wide range of scales: mercator extreme
  The mercator projection cut off much closer to the poles whichs location can be freely chosen.

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• python scripts to generate log-polar maps from pixelgraphics [2]
• "Detail-In-Context Visualization for Satellite Imagery" [3]
  "Complex Logarithmic Views for Small Details in Large Contexts" [4]
  by Joachim Boettinger et. al.
  Department of Computer and Information Science, University of Konstanz, Germany
• Video showing a manual multi-scale zoom device [5] the "zoom-scope"
• square grid mapped to show details on all scales equally [6]
• More large scale map examples [7]

• Images from Dmitry Shintyakov

Keywords

distortion lens view; log-polar map; complex logarithmic map, complex logarithmic view, anamorphic mirror, anamorphosis

Related

• Visualization methods for gemstone metamaterial factories
• Visualizations of gemstone metamaterial factories