December 15, 2005–MathGL3d, a popular 3D-graphics add-on for Mathematica, is now available from Wolfram Research in a greatly enhanced new version. MathGL3d is an OpenGL-based Mathematica application package for advanced scientific visualization that allows real-time interaction with Mathematica graphics.
MathGL3d‘s intuitive and user-friendly interface makes it easy to capitalize on interactive features such as rotation, animation, and visual viewpoint and lightsource editing. MathGL3d exports to many common 3D file formats, including POV-Ray, VRML 2.0, QuickDraw 3D, DXF, and smooth shaded PostScript. It can also read and import DXF and Geomview OFF files, providing an interface between the powerful computational graphics of Mathematica and specialized visualization tools like Alias, POV-Ray, and other applications.
Key new features in MathGL3d Version 4.0 include:
- Hardware-accelerated volume rendering for all supported platforms
- Line illumination
- Bump mapping
- Optimized POV-Ray export
- Alias export
Complete with full electronic documentation and detailed examples, MathGL3d makes it easy to prototype high-end engineering and design visualizations in a distributed and independent workflow. This is the perfect tool for prototyping with real-time rendering before full-blown production rendering. The interactive graphics also make it ideal for demonstrating concepts and encouraging visualization in a classroom setting.
Developed and supported by Dr. Jens-Peer Kuska, a research professor in the Interdisciplinary Center for Bioinformatics at the University of Leipzig, MathGL3d Version 4.0 is available for Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux platforms, and is intended for use with Mathematica 5.0 or higher.
More details are available on the MathGL3d website.