Making a person interface that visualizes a real-world construction — just like the Thirty Meter Telescope’s mirror — would possibly look like a job that calls for deep data of geometry, D3.js, and SVG graphics. However with a Massive Language Mannequin (LLM) like Claude or ChatGPT, you need not know every thing upfront.
This text paperwork a journey in constructing a fancy, interactive UI with no prior expertise in D3.js or UI improvement basically.
The work was executed as a part of constructing a prototype for an operational person interface for the telescope’s major mirror, designed to indicate real-time standing of mirror segments.
It highlights how LLMs make it easier to “get on with it”, supplying you with a working prototype
even if you’re unfamiliar with the underlying tech.
Extra importantly, it reveals how iterative prompting — refining your requests step-by-step —
leads not solely to the proper code but additionally to a clearer understanding
of what you are attempting to construct.
The Purpose
We wished to create an HTML-based visualization of the Thirty Meter Telescope’s major mirror, composed of 492 hexagonal segments organized symmetrically in a round sample.
We started with a high-level immediate that described the construction, however quickly realized that to achieve my purpose, I would must information the AI step-by-step.
Step 1: The Preliminary Immediate
“I need to create an HTML view of the Thirty Meter Telescope’s honeycomb mirror.
Attempt to generate an HTML and CSS based mostly UI for this mirror, which consists of 492 hexagonal segments organized in a round sample.
Total construction is of a honeycomb. The construction must be symmetric.
For instance the variety of hexagons within the first row must be similar within the final row.
The variety of hexagons within the second row must be similar because the one within the second final row, and many others.”
Claude gave it a shot — however the consequence wasn’t what I had in thoughts. The structure was blocky and never fairly symmetric. That is after I determined to take a step-by-step strategy.
Step 2: Drawing One Hexagon
“This isn’t what I would like… Let’s do it step-by-step.”
“Let’s draw one hexagon with flat edge vertical. The hexagon ought to have all sides of similar size.”
“Let’s use d3.js and draw svg.”
“Let’s draw just one hexagon with d3.”
Claude generated clear D3 code to attract a single hexagon with the proper orientation and geometry. It labored — and gave me confidence within the constructing blocks.
Lesson: Begin small. Affirm the inspiration works earlier than scaling complexity.
Step 3: Including a Second Hexagon
“Good… Now let’s add another hexagon subsequent to this one. It ought to share vertical edge with the primary hexagon.”
Claude adjusted the coordinates, putting the second hexagon adjoining to the primary by aligning their vertical edges. The structure logic was starting to emerge.
Step 4: Creating the Second Row
“Now let’s add another row.
The hexagons within the second row share vertical edges with one another just like the primary row.
The highest slanting edges of the hexagons within the second row must be shared with the underside slanting edges of the hexagons within the first row.
The variety of hexagons within the second row must be such that the primary row seems centrally positioned with the second row.”
Preliminary makes an attempt did not correctly align the slanting edges.
“Oops… this doesn’t share the slanting edges with the earlier row.”
However ultimately, after clarifying spacing and offset logic, Claude obtained it proper.
Lesson: Geometry-based layouts usually require a number of iterations with cautious visible inspection.
Step 5: Increasing right into a Symmetric Construction
“Now we have to create greater construction with extra hexagons organized in additional rows such that:
The general construction seems round like honeycomb.
The variety of hexagons within the rows goes on rising after which goes on reducing to type a wonderfully symmetric construction.
The whole variety of hexagons must be 492 to match the TMT telescope.
We will have an empty hexagon (displaying empty area) precisely on the heart of the circle.”
Claude used a ring-based structure strategy to simulate round symmetry. However at first:
“This isn’t round however seems to be extra like a hexagonal total view…”
Then I urged:
“Strive with solely 6 hexagons within the first and final row.”
This transformation improved symmetry and helped obtain a visually round structure. The variety of hexagons per row elevated after which decreased — precisely as desired.
Step 6: Tuning the Central Opening
“That is higher however we want a smaller opening on the heart.The black area on the heart is simply too huge. It must be at most 1 or a number of hexagons.”
By lowering the empty area and rebalancing the internal rings, we lastly obtained a well-packed, round construction with a small central hole — matching the TMT design.
Lesson: Use domain-specific constraints (like whole rely = 492) as guideposts for structure parameters.
Step 7: Including Numbering and Tooltips
“We need to have a quantity on every hexagonal phase. They need to be numbered sequentially. The primary within the first row must be 1 and the final within the final row must be 492. Once we present the hexagonal phase info on mouseover, we must always present the quantity as properly.”
Claude initially assigned numbers based mostly on ring index, not row order.
“You might be producing numbers based mostly on place within the ring… However the numbering must be row-based. So we must always by some means map the rings to the row. For instance, Ring 13 phase quantity 483 is in row 1 and must be numbered 1, and many others. Are you able to counsel a approach to map segments from rings to rows this fashion?”
As soon as this mapping was applied, every thing fell into place:
- A round structure of 492 numbered segments
- A small central hole
- Tooltips displaying phase metadata
- Visible symmetry from outer to internal rings
Reflections
This expertise taught me a number of key classes:
- LLMs make it easier to get on with it: Even with zero data of D3.js or SVG geometry, I might begin constructing instantly. The AI scaffolded the coding, and I discovered by the method.
- Prompting is iterative: My first immediate wasn’t fallacious — it simply wasn’t particular sufficient. By reviewing the output at every step, clarified what I actually wished and refined my asks accordingly.
- LLMs unlock studying by constructing: Ultimately, I did not simply get a working UI. I obtained an comprehensible codebase and a hands-on entry level into a brand new expertise. Constructing first and studying from it.
Conclusion
What began as a imprecise design concept changed into a functioning, symmetric, interactive visualization of the Thirty Meter Telescope’s mirror — constructed collaboratively with an LLM.
This expertise reaffirmed that prompt-driven improvement is not nearly producing code — it is about considering by design, clarifying intent, and constructing your manner into understanding.
Should you’ve ever wished to discover a brand new expertise, construct a UI, or sort out a domain-specific visualization — do not wait to be taught all of it first.
Begin constructing with an LLM. You may be taught alongside the way in which.
Making a person interface that visualizes a real-world construction — just like the Thirty Meter Telescope’s mirror — would possibly look like a job that calls for deep data of geometry, D3.js, and SVG graphics. However with a Massive Language Mannequin (LLM) like Claude or ChatGPT, you need not know every thing upfront.
This text paperwork a journey in constructing a fancy, interactive UI with no prior expertise in D3.js or UI improvement basically.
The work was executed as a part of constructing a prototype for an operational person interface for the telescope’s major mirror, designed to indicate real-time standing of mirror segments.
It highlights how LLMs make it easier to “get on with it”, supplying you with a working prototype
even if you’re unfamiliar with the underlying tech.
Extra importantly, it reveals how iterative prompting — refining your requests step-by-step —
leads not solely to the proper code but additionally to a clearer understanding
of what you are attempting to construct.
The Purpose
We wished to create an HTML-based visualization of the Thirty Meter Telescope’s major mirror, composed of 492 hexagonal segments organized symmetrically in a round sample.
We started with a high-level immediate that described the construction, however quickly realized that to achieve my purpose, I would must information the AI step-by-step.
Step 1: The Preliminary Immediate
“I need to create an HTML view of the Thirty Meter Telescope’s honeycomb mirror.
Attempt to generate an HTML and CSS based mostly UI for this mirror, which consists of 492 hexagonal segments organized in a round sample.
Total construction is of a honeycomb. The construction must be symmetric.
For instance the variety of hexagons within the first row must be similar within the final row.
The variety of hexagons within the second row must be similar because the one within the second final row, and many others.”
Claude gave it a shot — however the consequence wasn’t what I had in thoughts. The structure was blocky and never fairly symmetric. That is after I determined to take a step-by-step strategy.
Step 2: Drawing One Hexagon
“This isn’t what I would like… Let’s do it step-by-step.”
“Let’s draw one hexagon with flat edge vertical. The hexagon ought to have all sides of similar size.”
“Let’s use d3.js and draw svg.”
“Let’s draw just one hexagon with d3.”
Claude generated clear D3 code to attract a single hexagon with the proper orientation and geometry. It labored — and gave me confidence within the constructing blocks.
Lesson: Begin small. Affirm the inspiration works earlier than scaling complexity.
Step 3: Including a Second Hexagon
“Good… Now let’s add another hexagon subsequent to this one. It ought to share vertical edge with the primary hexagon.”
Claude adjusted the coordinates, putting the second hexagon adjoining to the primary by aligning their vertical edges. The structure logic was starting to emerge.
Step 4: Creating the Second Row
“Now let’s add another row.
The hexagons within the second row share vertical edges with one another just like the primary row.
The highest slanting edges of the hexagons within the second row must be shared with the underside slanting edges of the hexagons within the first row.
The variety of hexagons within the second row must be such that the primary row seems centrally positioned with the second row.”
Preliminary makes an attempt did not correctly align the slanting edges.
“Oops… this doesn’t share the slanting edges with the earlier row.”
However ultimately, after clarifying spacing and offset logic, Claude obtained it proper.
Lesson: Geometry-based layouts usually require a number of iterations with cautious visible inspection.
Step 5: Increasing right into a Symmetric Construction
“Now we have to create greater construction with extra hexagons organized in additional rows such that:
The general construction seems round like honeycomb.
The variety of hexagons within the rows goes on rising after which goes on reducing to type a wonderfully symmetric construction.
The whole variety of hexagons must be 492 to match the TMT telescope.
We will have an empty hexagon (displaying empty area) precisely on the heart of the circle.”
Claude used a ring-based structure strategy to simulate round symmetry. However at first:
“This isn’t round however seems to be extra like a hexagonal total view…”
Then I urged:
“Strive with solely 6 hexagons within the first and final row.”
This transformation improved symmetry and helped obtain a visually round structure. The variety of hexagons per row elevated after which decreased — precisely as desired.
Step 6: Tuning the Central Opening
“That is higher however we want a smaller opening on the heart.The black area on the heart is simply too huge. It must be at most 1 or a number of hexagons.”
By lowering the empty area and rebalancing the internal rings, we lastly obtained a well-packed, round construction with a small central hole — matching the TMT design.
Lesson: Use domain-specific constraints (like whole rely = 492) as guideposts for structure parameters.
Step 7: Including Numbering and Tooltips
“We need to have a quantity on every hexagonal phase. They need to be numbered sequentially. The primary within the first row must be 1 and the final within the final row must be 492. Once we present the hexagonal phase info on mouseover, we must always present the quantity as properly.”
Claude initially assigned numbers based mostly on ring index, not row order.
“You might be producing numbers based mostly on place within the ring… However the numbering must be row-based. So we must always by some means map the rings to the row. For instance, Ring 13 phase quantity 483 is in row 1 and must be numbered 1, and many others. Are you able to counsel a approach to map segments from rings to rows this fashion?”
As soon as this mapping was applied, every thing fell into place:
- A round structure of 492 numbered segments
- A small central hole
- Tooltips displaying phase metadata
- Visible symmetry from outer to internal rings
Reflections
This expertise taught me a number of key classes:
- LLMs make it easier to get on with it: Even with zero data of D3.js or SVG geometry, I might begin constructing instantly. The AI scaffolded the coding, and I discovered by the method.
- Prompting is iterative: My first immediate wasn’t fallacious — it simply wasn’t particular sufficient. By reviewing the output at every step, clarified what I actually wished and refined my asks accordingly.
- LLMs unlock studying by constructing: Ultimately, I did not simply get a working UI. I obtained an comprehensible codebase and a hands-on entry level into a brand new expertise. Constructing first and studying from it.
Conclusion
What began as a imprecise design concept changed into a functioning, symmetric, interactive visualization of the Thirty Meter Telescope’s mirror — constructed collaboratively with an LLM.
This expertise reaffirmed that prompt-driven improvement is not nearly producing code — it is about considering by design, clarifying intent, and constructing your manner into understanding.
Should you’ve ever wished to discover a brand new expertise, construct a UI, or sort out a domain-specific visualization — do not wait to be taught all of it first.
Begin constructing with an LLM. You may be taught alongside the way in which.
