Dear All,
I am a beginner to OpenGL and in need of directions on how I can proceed further in my project. Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Basically, I am assigned a project to analyse vibrations of a physical product, (e.g. washing machine). And I have a data acquisition software that helps me gather all these data. It’s a nice tool, spitting out graphs and charts. However, it does not have a function that allows the user to input the 3D model of the product that I am analyzing.
I understand that OpenGL allows me to input 3D models (OBJ files?) and color the faces the model according to my requirements. So I believe I could use a 3D modelling software such as Blender to generate the 3D models.
Using the data that I have collected, I can compute the colors for each face (generating a color map?).
The only question that remains is how do I actually merge the skeletal 3D structure of my product with the colors that I specify through all my data (what functions to call?). After which, how do I create an animation for the data sets that I have gathered (again, what functions should I call?).
The issue with the data is that the data acquisition software actually generates 10 sets of data every second. And due to the complexity of the product that I am handling, I might have to place my sensors at various places. This meant that I am actually handling a lot of data possibly 3,000 sets of data for just a second of acquisition. I do know that I have to optimise the code somehow to actually run the animation smoother.
I am not sure if OpenGL should be the right software to use. I would be glad to hear of any other tools that could help in my project.
Once again, much appreciated for any help rendered. Thank you very much!
** By the way, I do know fundamental and basic programming (really basic C and Javascript programming). I hope this helps a little?