A NEW software technique will allow researchers to present interactive 3D models of their work that give readers ability to scrutinise findings and even make new discoveries.

Developed by researchers at Melbourne's Swinburne University of Technology, technique involves interactive 3D visualisations being embedded into Adobe PDF (Portable Document Format) files.

Co-developer Christopher Fluke, an astronomer based at Swinburne's Centre for Astrophysics and Supercomputing, said re was a trend away from physical, paper-based journals to fully online digital publications.

"In past, way you would have shared a 3D model is that you would ei r have to make a movie of it - so you might rotate that with one particular set of views, or you would have to present it as a series of individual images," Dr Fluke said.

" problem re is that as person creating those movies, or those images, you are making decisions about what you want reader to see."

Dr Fluke, toge r with astronomer Dr David Barnes, developed a programming library, called S2PLOT, with goal of making it easier for researchers to get their data in a 3D form.

It has since been extended to make it possible to export 3D models into an intermediate format that n can be fed directly into PDF document.

Dr Fluke said interactive method meant readers could scrutinise data in a way that had not been previously available to m.

"So ra r than seeing a static, single image of a 3D object, readers can click on image, rotate it around, and view it from different angles, as well as zoom in and out," he said.

"We have also looked at adding simple functions so that you can turn on and off labels or select different types of presentation formats for that data."

software will initially be aimed at Other astronomers, but has applications over a wide range of sciences. researchers expect to commercialise software in future.

" great thing about PDF format is that you don't have to worry as a creator about type of software or computer that your ultimate reader is using," Dr Fluke said.

"So putting it into a self-contained format, which has become a standard, makes it very easy for us to share se results."

Fur r work on software will involve making complex figures quicker to load and interact with, as well as considering whe r re are ways to reduce file size.

Dr Fluke said re was also a specific application for education that involved creating an interactive textbook.

"So students can get a PDF document and have all of their 3D models integrated into that, which is a much better educational experience for m," Dr Fluke said.

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