Making a consumer interface that visualizes a real-world construction — just like the Thirty Meter Telescope’s mirror — may appear to be a process 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 little thing upfront.
This text paperwork a journey in constructing a fancy, interactive UI with no prior expertise in D3.js or UI improvement usually.
The work was achieved as a part of constructing a prototype for an operational consumer interface for the telescope’s major mirror, designed to indicate real-time standing of mirror segments.
It highlights how LLMs show you how to “get on with it”, supplying you with a working prototype
even once you’re unfamiliar with the underlying tech.
Extra importantly, it exhibits how iterative prompting — refining your requests step-by-step —
leads not solely to the best code but additionally to a clearer understanding
of what you are making an attempt to construct.
The Purpose
We needed 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 aim, I would have to 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 primarily based UI for this mirror, which consists of 492 hexagonal segments organized in a round sample.
Total construction is of a honeycomb. The construction ought to be symmetric.
For instance the variety of hexagons within the first row ought to be similar within the final row.
The variety of hexagons within the second row ought to be similar because the one within the second final row, and so on.”
Claude gave it a shot — however the outcome wasn’t what I had in thoughts. The format 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, inserting the second hexagon adjoining to the primary by aligning their vertical edges. The format 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 ought to be shared with the underside slanting edges of the hexagons within the first row.
The variety of hexagons within the second row ought to 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 finally, after clarifying spacing and offset logic, Claude obtained it proper.
Lesson: Geometry-based layouts typically 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 lowering to kind a superbly symmetric construction.
The whole variety of hexagons must be 492 to match the TMT telescope.
We are able to have an empty hexagon (displaying empty area) precisely on the middle of the circle.”
Claude used a ring-based format strategy to simulate round symmetry. However at first:
“This isn’t round however appears extra like a hexagonal general view…”
Then I instructed:
“Strive with solely 6 hexagons within the first and final row.”
This modification improved symmetry and helped obtain a visually round format. 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 middle.The black area on the middle is simply too large. It ought to be at most 1 or a couple of hexagons.”
By decreasing 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 complete rely = 492) as guideposts for format parameters.
Step 7: Including Numbering and Tooltips
“We need to have a quantity on every hexagonal section. They need to be numbered sequentially. The primary within the first row ought to be 1 and the final within the final row ought to be 492. After we present the hexagonal section info on mouseover, we should always present the quantity as effectively.”
Claude initially assigned numbers primarily based on ring index, not row order.
“You’re producing numbers primarily based on place within the ring… However the numbering ought to be row-based. So we should always by some means map the rings to the row. For instance, Ring 13 section quantity 483 is in row 1 and ought to be numbered 1, and so on. Are you able to recommend a method to map segments from rings to rows this manner?”
As soon as this mapping was carried out, every little thing fell into place:
- A round format of 492 numbered segments
- A small central hole
- Tooltips displaying section metadata
- Visible symmetry from outer to internal rings
Reflections
This expertise taught me a number of key classes:
- LLMs show you how to get on with it: Even with zero data of D3.js or SVG geometry, I may begin constructing instantly. The AI scaffolded the coding, and I realized by way of the method.
- Prompting is iterative: My first immediate wasn’t improper — it simply wasn’t particular sufficient. By reviewing the output at every step, clarified what I actually needed and refined my asks accordingly.
- LLMs unlock studying by way of 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 thought was 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 way of design, clarifying intent, and constructing your method into understanding.
If you happen to’ve ever needed to discover a brand new expertise, construct a UI, or deal with a domain-specific visualization — do not wait to be taught all of it first.
Begin constructing with an LLM. You will be taught alongside the way in which.
