Project Editor Window

Overview

The Project Editor serves as the heart of FlapKine, where users interact with STL scenes, fine-tune animations, and analyze motion data via integrated visualization tools.

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Interface Overview

Section	Purpose
Video Animation	Renders and displays the animation preview
3D Visualizer	Plays the STL model animation interactively
Selected Point	Enables precise 2D point selection on STL model surfaces
Scatter Plot	Illustrates the 3D motion trajectory of the selected point

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Video Animation Widget

• Overview: Automatically shows the rendered animation if available. Otherwise, users can render the animation using the Render button.

• Key Features:

  • Render Button: Initiates the animation render if it hasn’t been completed.

  • Status Bar: Displays real-time rendering progress beside the Render button.

  • Configurable Rendering: Adjust render settings via the Render → Configure Render in top menubar.

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3D Visualizer Widget

• Overview: Renders the STL model in motion, providing an interactive 3D experience, which can be controlled using the mouse, with functions like rotation, zooming, and panning.

• Key Features:

  • Interactive Controls: Rotate, zoom, and pan using the mouse.

  • Playback Controls: Play, pause, or scrub through the animation timeline.

  • Visualization Aid: Helps to set camera and lighting configurations for the final video render.

  • Coordinate Axes: Displays both body-fixed axes (A, B, C) and inertial axes (X, Y, Z).

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Point Selector Widget

• Overview: Optimized for components like wings where one dimension is significantly smaller; it provides a 2D projection by excluding the smallest axis.

• Key Features:

  • Flattened Projection: Automatically adjusts to produce a 2D view for easier point selection.

  • Adaptive Interface: Works intelligently for wing-like structures.

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Scatter Plot Widget

• Overview: Uses computed forward kinematics to plot the 3D motion of the selected point with respect to the inertial coordinate system (X, Y, Z).

• Key Features:

  • Trajectory Tracking: Visualizes the motion path in 3D space over time.

  • Inertial Axes Reference: The plot is aligned with the inertial axes (X, Y, Z), providing a global frame of reference for motion.