Superquad with gui example

This example uses MayaVi to show the evolution of a superquadric (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superquadrics), which are ellipsoidal surfaces parametrised by two parameters, alpha and beta.

The equations that determine the superquadric are, in spherical-polar coordinates:

x = A * sin(phi)**alpha * cos(theta)**beta
y = B * sin(phi)**alpha * sin(theta)**beta
z = C * cos(phi)**alpha

Note that when we set A = B = C = r and alpha = beta = 1, we get the equation for a sphere in spherical polar coordinates.

Use the controls at the bottom of the plot to adjust alpha and beta, and watch as the figure transforms accordingly!

Python source code: superquad_with_gui.py

# Author: Pratik Mallya <pmallya@enthought.com>
# Copyright (c) Enthought, Inc.
# License: BSD Style.

import numpy as np
from traits.api import HasTraits, Range, Instance, \
                    on_trait_change
from traitsui.api import View, Item, HGroup
from mayavi.core.ui.api import MayaviScene, MlabSceneModel, SceneEditor


def fexp(x,p):
    """a different kind of exponentiation"""
    return (np.sign(x) * (np.abs(x)**p))

def tens_fld(A,B,C,P,Q):
    """this module plots superquadratic surfaces with the given parameters"""
    phi, theta = np.mgrid[0:np.pi:80j, 0:2*np.pi:80j]
    x = A * (fexp(np.sin(phi),P)) * (fexp(np.cos(theta),Q))
    y = B * (fexp(np.sin(phi),P)) * (fexp(np.sin(theta),Q))
    z = C * (fexp(np.cos(phi),P))
    return x , y , z 


class Visualization(HasTraits):
    alpha = Range(0.0, 4.0, 1.0/4)
    beta  = Range(0.0, 4.0, 1.0/4)
    scene = Instance(MlabSceneModel, ())

    def __init__(self):
        # Do not forget to call the parent's __init__
        HasTraits.__init__(self)
        x, y, z, = tens_fld(1, 1, 1, self.beta, self.alpha)
        self.plot = self.scene.mlab.mesh(x, y, z, colormap='copper', representation='surface')

    @on_trait_change('beta,alpha')
    def update_plot(self):
        x, y, z, = tens_fld(1, 1, 1, self.beta, self.alpha)
        self.plot.mlab_source.trait_set(x = x, y = y, z = z)


    # the layout of the dialog created
    view = View(Item('scene', editor = SceneEditor(scene_class=MayaviScene),
                    height = 750, width=750, show_label=False),
                HGroup(
                        '_', 'beta', 'alpha',
                    ),
                )

visualization = Visualization()
visualization.configure_traits()