HarrisonKramer
Interactive Glass Map
Checklist
- [x] I have searched the existing issues and discussions for a similar question or feature request.
- [x] I have read the documentation and tried to find an answer there.
- [x] I am using the latest version of Optiland.
- [x] I have included all necessary context.
Feature Request
Description of the feature Right now, we have no interactive way of visualizing the glass types supported by Optiland. As glass types are the building blocks of the lenses and other optical components to be used and modelled in Optical design software, instead of relying on external programs, it makes sense to add a new feature for an Interactive Glass Map Diagram where we can easily explore the material's properties, and have different visualization schemes. I am very much am open to ideas and brainstorms, and in the coming weeks I will comment here in this issue some possible ideas.
Description of a possible solution In order not to bloat Optiland with every single feature, I believe it makes sense to start a new repo (in one of our contributors profile - or maybe even creating a shared account dedicated to the Optiland team (idk if it is possible) and later have Optiland's GUI call these features from this additional package coming from another repo. This would then be linked to the GUI's "Materials" page, accessible from the sidebar:
Describe alternatives you've considered N/A
Additional context There are several glass map visualization tools - e.g. https://www.schott.com/en-gb/special-selection-tools/interactive-abbe-diagram . The goal is not to copy this approach but rather try to be a bit more creative in the several possible ways of representing the glass map, in a way that might be more intuitive for users.
The Abbe diagram is a great tool to search for glasses as nd and vd is generally used in patents. Zoom should be infinitive. Possibility to load many glass catalogs is a must.
Hi there @ZvejysMegejas ,
Thank you for the comment. Optiland already currently supports many glass catalogs - see here: https://optiland.readthedocs.io/en/latest/functionalities.html
Additionally, one of the collaborators, @drpaprika , implement a great feature called "Glass Expert". You may learn more about it here: https://optiland.readthedocs.io/en/latest/examples/Tutorial_7e_Glass_Expert.html
Thanks once again, ~Manuel
Hi @manuelFragata's, indeed the Glass Expert feature samples the glass map to find good candidates during optimization.
Having an interactive glass map in the GUI could indeed be a cool tool. However a static map can already be displayed using the plot_glass_map() function, that simply receives a list of glass names as argument (eg ['N-BK7', 'F5', ...]). Maybe it can be implemented in the GUI without too much effort ?
Another example is available here: https://opticalglass.readthedocs.io/en/latest/
Hi @Jonas231 ,
Indeed, also a very nice source of inspiration, thank you for sharing