Variable Mapping
In some applications you can have many sensors located around a single object - such as furnace, heater or other large piece of equipment.
In 2D, this is very difficult to visualise without needing special training. No matter what solution you choose, it takes effort to translate it into the real world of three dimensional objects.
If your visualisation is 3D instead of 2D though, it suddenly becomes easy.
The sample on the right shows temperature changes across a cylinder, although object could be anything at all.
Controls
This particular cylinder has three points of data - one located at the tip, one in the center and the other at the bottom. In this sample, we are showing temperature across our object.
To adjust temperature, use the Q & W keys (which change the top temperature), A & S keys (to change the middle temperature) and Z & X keys (to change the bottom temperature). The left key drops the temperature and the right key increases it. Imagine that you are applying heat with a blowtorch with 'W' and water to cool with 'Q'.
Press 'R' to reset the values back to what they were initially.
Press 'M' to toggle between the Thermal Imaging colour scheme and the Steel scheme.. Note that you won't see much response on the Steel shader until you reach 600-700 degrees, as this reflects the real reaction of steel.