Graphics
Applications
Digital media Entertainment Art Visualization Science Modeling Games Software Virtual Reality
Monsters, Inc
Walt Disney Pictures and Pixar Animation Studios
2.5 million rendermarks (measure of computing power)
Technical achievements: depiction of fur and hair
– shadowing, density, lighting, and movement
– Sulley’s coat includes nearly 3 million hairs
– Boo’s hair and pigtails Motion
– Boo’s T-shirt moves independently of her body
Shrek
PDI/DreamWorks 275 people, 3 years
– computer animators, software developers, and engineers
"Holy Grails of CG Animation“– realistic humans
• facial animation systems– natural environments
• large-scale organic• wind, foliage
– textures• clothing
– motion simulation• fire
Art
Photorealism Digital art
Visualization
Medicine GIS Motion biology
Science
Mathematics of curves and surfaces Physics of light and color
When photography is not possible
Outer space Molecular modeling Simulation of dangerous phenomena
Games
Software - Pixar Animation Studios
Pixar’s RenderMan ® 3D rendering software– used for Pixar’s own feature film productions. – used in 32 of the last 36 films nominated for a Best Visual
Effects Oscar Movies which have used RenderMan
– Finding Nemo– The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Return of the King – Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets– Men in Black II– Minority Report– The Scorpion King– Spider Man– Star Wars Episode II - Attack of the Clones
http://www.pixar.com/howwedoit/index.html
Virtual Reality (VR)
Immersive 3d graphics with intuitive interfaces Interactive Virtual environments Augment reality History
– term “virtual reality” coined by Jaron Lanier– VPL Research, Inc (1983)
Spurred high-performance consumer-level computing– Pong (1971), Doom (1992), Quake (1996) …– computer and video game industry now produces
revenues of $6 billion per year
Virtual hardware
Head mounted display
– provides stereo images and sound
– computer tracks user’s head so it can create illusion of stable, 360 degree environment
Gloves
– make gestures and interact with objects in the virtual world
VR system components
Hardware– Sensor/tracking hardware– Display devices– Graphics hardware
Software– graphical modeling– physical simulation– user input processing– artificial intelligence
Cave Automatic Virtual Environment
CAVE Electronic Visualization Lab, UI Chicago Provides illusion of immersion by projecting stereo
images on the walls and floor of a room-sized cube
Immersive VR
Head-referenced viewing provides natural interface for navigation in three-dimensional space – allows for look-around, walk-around, and fly-through
capabilities in virtual environments Stereoscopic viewing enhances depth perception and sense of
space. Virtual world presented full scale, proportioned to human size Realistic interactions with virtual objects via data glove and
similar devices allow manipulation, operation, and control of virtual worlds
Illusion of being fully immersed in an artificial world enhanced by auditory and other non-visual technologies
Networked applications allow for shared virtual environments
Challenges in VR design
Interactivity real-time systems– system must respond to user inputs without any
perceptible delay Real-time constraint
– fast computation and graphics 3D interface design Tracking hardware High-resolution display hardware Must be compelling!
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