Energy aware colour mapping for visualization

We present a design technique for colours that lower the energy consumption of the display device. Our approach relies on a screen space variant energy model. Guided by perceptual principles, we present three variations of our approach for finding low energy, distinguishable, iso-lightness colours. The first is based on a set of discrete user-named (categorical) colours, which are ordered according to energy consumption. The second optimizes for colours in the continuous CIELAB colour space. The third is hybrid, optimizing for colours in select CIELAB colour subspaces that are associated with colour names. We quantitatively compare our colours with a traditional choice of colours, demonstrating that approximately 45 percent of the display energy is saved. The colour sets are applied to 2D visualization of nominal data and volume rendering of 3D scalar fields. A new colour blending method for volume rendering which preserves hues further improves colour distinguishability.