The focus of our research group is to provide foundations for integrated software systems presenting various visualization methods to the user in an interactive and consistent way. Today, the way visualization systems are designed needs to face the challenge of increasing data size and data complexity. In our current research we devise solutions to these challenges.

Visualization systems should provide

• a graphical user interface to specify and control a visualization
• a library of routines solving general development tasks
• internal data representations and input/output routines
• means for automating predefined tasks; for example a scripting language
• mechanisms for user extensibility.

Optimal algorithms, external memory algorithms, hierachical methods, and utilization of modern hardware are approaches to handling massive data sizes. Most solutions are based on specific data structures. Visualization systems need to adjust to continue to provide a general platform.

New interaction methods and extraction of data specific features are approaches to dealing with the increasing data complexity. Complex internal structure, time-dependent data, multivariate data, and collections of related data sets need to be effictively visualized and analyzed. Many proposed solutions require changes in the way visualization systems are designed.

Results of our research are available through the software systems Amira and Biosphere3D.