Mayavi

Mayavi

Mayavi is an open-source, 3D scientific data visualization and plotting Python library built on top of VTK and NumPy. It provides easy ways to visualize scalar, vector and tensor data fields in Python.
Mayavi image
3d visualization plotting scientific data

Mayavi: 3D Scientific Data Visualization & Plotting

An open-source Python library for 3D data visualization and plotting built on VTK and NumPy, providing easy ways to visualize scalar, vector and tensor data fields.

What is Mayavi?

Mayavi is an open-source, 3D scientific data visualization and plotting Python library built on top of the Visualization Toolkit (VTK) and NumPy. It provides easy and interactive workflows to visualize scalar, vector and tensor data fields in Python. Some of the key features of Mayavi include:

  • Interactive 3D plotting of scalar and vector fields
  • Support for animated plots and widgets
  • Large library of visualization objects and modules
  • Scriptable visualizations using Python and NumPy
  • Extensible architecture to add new data types and algorithms
  • Integrates well with other scientific Python libraries like SciPy, Matplotlib

Mayavi relies on VTK to leverage fast 3D rendering and supports different rendering backends. It also uses NumPy to provide an interface with array data from common scientific Python libraries. Due to its simple Python workflows and rich set of visualization features, Mayavi is very popular in domains like scientific computing, medical imaging, GIS systems and education.

Mayavi Features

Features

  1. 3D scientific data visualization
  2. Volume rendering
  3. Surface plots
  4. Contour plots
  5. Vector field visualization
  6. Scalar field visualization
  7. Customizable modules

Pricing

  • Open Source

Pros

Open source

Built on VTK and NumPy

Easy to use Python API

Good performance

Wide range of visualization options

Scriptable workflows

Extendable with custom modules

Cons

Steep learning curve

Limited documentation

Not as feature rich as some commercial packages

Some stability issues

Development has slowed in recent years


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