Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Nevada, Reno, 2006. / "May 2006." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 131-137). Online version available on the World Wide Web.

Typescript (photocopy)

<p>This report documents the work done by the author to design and implement a 3D graphics system on an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array). After a preamble with a background presentation to the project, a very brief introduction in computer graphics techniques and computer graphics theory is given. Then, the hardware available to the project, along with an analysis of general requirements is examined. The following chapter contains the proposed graphics system design for FPGA implementation. A broad approach to separate the design and the eventual implementation was used. Two 3D pipelines are suggested - one fully capable high-end version and one which use minimal resources. The documentation of the effort to implement the minimal graphics system previously discussed then follows. The documentation outlines the work done without going too deep into detail, and is followed by the largest of the tests conducted. Finally, chapter seven concludes the project with the most important project conclusions and some suggestions for future work.</p>

<p>3D Models of botanical trees are very important in video games, simulation, virtual reality, digital city modeling and other fields of computer graphics. However, since the early days of computer graphics, the modeling of trees has been challenging, because of the huge dynamical range between its smallest and largest structures and their geometrical complexity. Trees are also ubiquitous which makes it even hard to model them in a realistic way, Current techniques are limited in that they model a tree either in a rule-based way or in an approximated way. These methods emphasize appearance while sacrificing its real structure. Recent development in range scanners are making 3D aquisition feasible for large and complex objects. This report presents the semi-automatic technique developed for modeling laser-scanned trees. First, the user draws a few strokes on the depth image plane generated from the dataset. Branches are then extracted through the 2D Curve detection algorithm originally developed. Afterwards, those short branches are connected together to generate the skeleton of the tree by forming a Minimum Spanning Tree (MST). Finally, the geometry of the tree skeleton is produced using allometric rules for branch thickness and branching angles.</p>

Image analysis and graphics synthesis can be achieved with learning techniques using directly image examples without physically-based, 3D models. In our technique: -- the mapping from novel images to a vector of "pose" and "expression" parameters can be learned from a small set of example images using a function approximation technique that we call an analysis network; -- the inverse mapping from input "pose" and "expression" parameters to output images can be synthesized from a small set of example images and used to produce new images using a similar synthesis network. The techniques described here have several applications in computer graphics, special effects, interactive multimedia and very low bandwidth teleconferencing.

Thesis (M.S.)--West Virginia University, 2006. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains vii, 124 p. : ill. (some col.). Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 76).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2006. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 119-124).

Thesis (M. Phil.)--University of Hong Kong, 2006. / Title proper from title frame. Also available in printed format.

The general problem of application development of interactive GUI applications has been addressed by toolkits, libraries, user interface management systems, and more recently domain-specific application frameworks. However, the most sophisticated solution offered by frameworks still lacks a number of features which are addressed by this research: 1) limited functionality -- the framework does little to help the developer implement the application's functionality. 2) weak model of the application -- the framework does not incorporate a strong model of the overall architecture of the application program. 3) representation of control sequences is difficult to understand, edit, and reuse -- higher-level, direct-manipulation tools are needed. We address these problems with a new framework design called Oregon Speedcode Universe version 3.0 (OSU v3.0) which is shown, by demonstration, to overcome the limitations above: 1) functionality is provided by a rich set of built-in functions organized as a class hierarchy, 2) a strong model is provided by OSU v3.0 in the form of a modified MVC paradigm, and a Petri net based sequencing language which together form the architectural structure of all applications produced by OSU v3.0. 3) representation of control sequences is easily constructed within OSU v3.0 using a Petri net editor, and other direct manipulation tools built on top of the framework. In ddition: 1) applications developed in OSU v3.0 are partially portable because the framework can be moved to another platform, and applications are dependent on the class hierarchy of OSU v3.0 rather than the operating system of a particular platform, 2) the functionality of OSU v3.0 is extendable through addition of classes, subclassing, and overriding of existing methods. The main contribution of this research is in the design of an application framework that uses Petri nets as the computational model of data processing in the synthesized application. OSU v3.0 is the first framework to formalize sequencing, and to show that complex GUI applications can indeed be quickly and reliably produced from such a framework. / Graduation date: 1992

Computer graphics perspective is based on photography, the pin-hole camera model. This thesis examines the perspective as practiced by artists, who develop the picture geometry within the planar surface of the canvas. Their approach is flexible, depth is simulated with planar composition as the primary geometry. Renaissance artists discovered construction methods to draw the foreshortening of realistic pictures: the construction of a tiled floor in perspective was fundamental. This thesis presents the framework, a computer program, I developed to create the perspective of pictures based on the geometry practices of artists. Construction lines on the image plane simulate the 3D geometry of the pictorial space; cartoons of foreground elements are manipulated in 2D within the picture perspective; projected shadows, examples of double projection, are also included. A formalism, reformulating algebraically the straight-edge and compass evaluations, generalizes the planar geometry that solves the challenge of depicting 3D. A revised Painter’s algorithm produces the occlusions between the picture elements from sequencing them from their definitions on the canvas.