CaDS Seminar 2026 - Nov. 3

Marcel Krüger (ATML Visualization & Interactive HPC)

From Final Images to Continuous Insight: Towards Visualization as a Service

Abstract:

Visualization is one of the most direct ways to understand simulation results, yet its potential often remains under-utilized in scientific workflows, where it is frequently limited to producing final images rather than supporting monitoring, debugging, and exploration. The obstacles are rarely the visualization algorithms themselves, but the surrounding work: setting up tools, preparing and moving data, instrumenting codes, and maintaining pipelines across code versions and machines. Each choice between post-hoc, in-situ, and in-transit processing adds its own toolchain and required expertise, so the effort often outweighs the expected benefit.

This talk discusses the need for visualization as a service: making visualization capabilities available through accessible interfaces, sensible defaults, and reusable components, so that using them no longer requires deep knowledge of the underlying tools. The aim is not a single solution for every use case, but a substantial reduction of effort for common tasks, while keeping full control available for those who need it. The talk examines where current tools impose unnecessary complexity, which parts lend themselves to simplification, and which open questions remain.