Abstract: A method for determining color information in a computer image generated display in which the display is divided into a plurality of spans and each span comprises a matrix of pixels, each of the pixels being further divided into a matrix of subpixels, which method and apparatus allows overlapping and inner penetrating faces appearing in an image to be resolved without conflict. Faces of objects appearing in an image are resolved by a range ordering process for each span in an image. The faces are reordered into range separable groups in which a range separable group is defined as faces in which the maximum range to the most distant face in a group does not overlap the minimum range of the nearest face in another group. Each range separable group of faces is then processed on a per pixel basis for determining the color contribution of that face or group of faces to each subpixel within a pixel.

Abstract: A method for computer image generation simulated visual scenes for applications such as flight training. The processing to generate the image takes place in three sequential stages: Controller, Geometry Processor, and Display Processor. At any point in time, the stages are processing data for three consecutive scenes. Each scene is comprised of a plurality of faces. Processing prior to the Display Processor accomplishes clipping and perspective transformation of faces. The Display Processor then generates the scene with pipeline processing accomplishing four major tasks: span detection or windowing, span sequencing, mask processing, and color processing. The improved realism of the computer generated image includes application of area-times-color smoothing, using fractional face areas to improve scene quality and reduce quantizing artifacts.

Abstract: A method for computer image generation producing simulated visual scenes for applications such as flight training, employing a comprehensive distortion correction to generate the image takes place in three sequential stages: Controller, Geometry Processor, and Display Processor. The Display Processor generates video to produce the desired scene on the raster of the display device. If the scene is projected through a wide-angle lens and/or is projected onto a curved screen, the combination of optical and geometric distortion presents a highly distorted scene to the viewer. The comprehensive distortion correction method produces a precisely predistorted scene on the projector raster so it appears valid to the viewer. Mapping between projector space and viewer space is highly nonlinear. However, a small region of the display (span) is selected sufficiently small so that the projector/viewer transformation may be considered linear.

Abstract: An improved advanced video object generator with a more efficient cell texturing memory is disclosed. The advanced video object generator includes a data memory for storing cell-by-cell object data for a plurality of objects for retrieval and processing for video display. A vector processor calculates object transformations for translating operator inputs into image orientation control signals for calculating pixel-by-pixel image data. Cell texture address logic determines the memory location to be accessed for retrieval of cell texture data for display. Output logic provides the cell texture data to a span processor which translates the cell texture data into pixel-by-pixel display data for display on a video display device. The disclosed improvement includes at least one data memory hardware map having a plurality of nxn memory locations for storing n.sup.2 cell sets of cell texture data. The cell texture output logic reads out two independent n.sup.2 cell sets simultaneously which are blended.