Visualization of OpenFOAM calculation results overlaid on the actual space using MetaQuest 3
Operation and visualization on Meta Quest 3
Issues
When fluid calculations are performed using a simulation tool such as OpenFOAM, it is common to visualize the results on a PC screen using a visualization tool such as ParaView.
Meanwhile, XR devices have become relatively affordable in recent years. Many devices are compatible with MR (Mixed Reality), and a growing amount of content has emerged that overlays virtual images onto real spaces.
Therefore, we conducted a technical test to overlay a simulation on a real space on an XR device as a new method for visualizing simulations. If this works effectively, it may become a new option for visualizing simulations.
Development
To achieve the visualization described above, we will develop a system that uses a device called Meta Quest 3 to display OpenFOAM results overlaid on real space.
The system is currently under development and not fully functional, but the video above shows the results of the system in action. This video records the field of view seen by the user when wearing the Meta Quest 3.
In this video, the warm air blowing out of an indoor air conditioner is displayed overlaid on the actual room. The simulation results show the temperature, flow velocity vectors, and the movement of particles moving along the flow.
Detail of technology
This system was developed using a library called VisAssets , a visualization framework for Unity that allows various visualizations to be performed by connecting modules on Unity.
The original VisAssets is a library for VR and does not have the function to visualize it overlaid on real space, but we have made it compatible with Meta Quest 3's MR function, allowing it to be displayed overlaid on real space.
In addition, VisAssets can read data in its own proprietary format or in formats used by visualization systems such as VFIVE. Because this differs from the data format output by OpenFOAM, we also developed a conversion script to convert OpenFOAM results so that they can be read into VisAssets.