Patents by Inventor Thomas Douglas Selkirk Duff

Thomas Douglas Selkirk Duff has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 10013775
    Abstract: Systems, method, and computer program products for compressing a deep image comprising a plurality of voxels by, for each of the plurality of voxels, converting a voxel value to a corresponding value in a Lie algebra based on a logarithmic mapping function, interpolating a first subset of the plurality of values in the Lie algebra using a linear interpolation function applied to a first endpoint and a second endpoint of a first voxel column of the deep image, and upon determining that a deviation of the interpolation of each value in the first subset of the plurality of values does not exceed a threshold, storing an indication of the first endpoint, the second endpoint, and the respective values in the Lie algebra corresponding to the first and second endpoints.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 21, 2016
    Date of Patent: July 3, 2018
    Assignee: Pixar
    Inventor: Thomas Douglas Selkirk Duff
  • Publication number: 20160314598
    Abstract: Systems, method, and computer program products for compressing a deep image comprising a plurality of voxels by, for each of the plurality of voxels, converting a voxel value to a corresponding value in a Lie algebra based on a logarithmic mapping function, interpolating a first subset of the plurality of values in the Lie algebra using a linear interpolation function applied to a first endpoint and a second endpoint of a first voxel column of the deep image, and upon determining that a deviation of the interpolation of each value in the first subset of the plurality of values does not exceed a threshold, storing an indication of the first endpoint, the second endpoint, and the respective values in the Lie algebra corresponding to the first and second endpoints.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 21, 2016
    Publication date: October 27, 2016
    Inventor: Thomas Douglas Selkirk DUFF
  • Patent number: 9197799
    Abstract: Light field imaging systems, and in particular light field lenses that can be mated with a variety of conventional cameras (e.g., digital or photographic/film, image and video/movie cameras) to create light field imaging systems. Light field data collected by these light field imaging systems can then be used to produce 2D images, right eye/left eye 3D images, to refocus foreground images and/or background images together or separately (depth of field adjustments), and to move the camera angle, as well as to render and manipulate images using a computer graphics rendering engine and compositing tools.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 18, 2013
    Date of Patent: November 24, 2015
    Assignee: PIXAR
    Inventors: David DiFrancesco, Thomas Douglas Selkirk Duff, Mark VandeWettering
  • Patent number: 9063323
    Abstract: Light field imaging systems, and in particular light field lenses that can be mated with a variety of conventional cameras (e.g., digital or photographic/film, image and video/movie cameras) to create light field imaging systems. Light field data collected by these light field imaging systems can then be used to produce 2D images, right eye/left eye 3D images, to refocus foreground images and/or background images together or separately (depth of field adjustments), and to move the camera angle, as well as to render and manipulate images using a computer graphics rendering engine and compositing tools.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 4, 2011
    Date of Patent: June 23, 2015
    Assignee: PIXAR
    Inventors: David DiFrancesco, Thomas Douglas Selkirk Duff, Mark Vande Wettering
  • Patent number: 9063345
    Abstract: Light field imaging systems, and in particular light field lenses that can be mated with a variety of conventional cameras (e.g., digital or photographic/film, image and video/movie cameras) to create light field imaging systems. Light field data collected by these light field imaging systems can then be used to produce 2D images, right eye/left eye 3D images, to refocus foreground images and/or background images together or separately (depth of field adjustments), and to move the camera angle, as well as to render and manipulate images using a computer graphics rendering engine and compositing tools. A doublet lenslet array element for use in light field imaging systems includes a first lenslet array element having a first plurality of lenslet array elements, and a second lenslet array element having a first plurality of lenslet array elements, wherein the first lenslet array element is coupled in close proximity to the second lenslet array element.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 4, 2011
    Date of Patent: June 23, 2015
    Assignee: PIXAR
    Inventors: David DiFrancesco, Thomas Douglas Selkirk Duff, Mark Vande Wettering, Tolis Deslis
  • Patent number: 8970588
    Abstract: The efficiency of shading and rendering processes can be improved through implementing object oriented programming for shading program languages. Computer graphics data representing a geometric model in a scene are determined and assigned to object oriented classes and subclasses and are subsequently sorted and grouped into several (e.g., two or more) groups based on the classification information. Once the computer graphics data are assigned in a class and/or subclasses and grouped, a shader interpreter implements SIMD operators on each group of data values.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 31, 2009
    Date of Patent: March 3, 2015
    Assignee: Pixar
    Inventor: Thomas Douglas Selkirk Duff
  • Publication number: 20140132820
    Abstract: Light field imaging systems, and in particular light field lenses that can be mated with a variety of conventional cameras (e.g., digital or photographic/film, image and video/movie cameras) to create light field imaging systems. Light field data collected by these light field imaging systems can then be used to produce 2D images, right eye/left eye 3D images, to refocus foreground images and/or background images together or separately (depth of field adjustments), and to move the camera angle, as well as to render and manipulate images using a computer graphics rendering engine and compositing tools.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 18, 2013
    Publication date: May 15, 2014
    Applicant: Pixar
    Inventors: David DiFrancesco, Thomas Douglas Selkirk Duff, Mark VandeWettering
  • Patent number: 8502909
    Abstract: Light field imaging systems, and in particular light field lenses that can be mated with a variety of conventional cameras (e.g., digital or photographic/film, image and video/movie cameras) to create light field imaging systems. Light field data collected by these light field imaging systems can then be used to produce 2D images, right eye/left eye 3D images, to refocus foreground images and/or background images together or separately (depth of field adjustments), and to move the camera angle, as well as to render and manipulate images using a computer graphics rendering engine and compositing tools.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 4, 2010
    Date of Patent: August 6, 2013
    Assignee: Pixar
    Inventors: David DiFrancesco, Thomas Douglas Selkirk Duff, Mark VandeWettering, Peter Flowers
  • Patent number: 8466919
    Abstract: An image may be represented by a directed acyclic graph (DAG) including a number of nodes on paths between input parameters and output values. Intermediate operations are performed at the nodes to produce intermediate output values. One or more of the input parameters may be modified (e.g., by an animator). A determination is then made as to which intermediate output values are affected by the modified input parameters. A simplified DAG is constructed from the nodes corresponding to the intermediate output values affected by the modified input parameters. The intermediate output values that are not affected by the modified input parameters and are maintained at a constant value corresponding to a previously determined value for the intermediate output value. The simplified DAG is evaluated to determine the output resulting from the modified input parameter such that the image may be re-rendered without re-evaluating the full DAG.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 6, 2009
    Date of Patent: June 18, 2013
    Assignee: Pixar
    Inventors: Thomas Douglas Selkirk Duff, Robert L. Cook
  • Patent number: 8436867
    Abstract: A degree of detail calculation required for calculations to process computer graphics data is determined based on input parameters that are varying in certain dimensions. During a detail analysis of a shader, a directed graph is built in such a way that each connection between nodes indicates a dependency among inputs and outputs of calculations and/or input parameters. For each input parameter, variability information about the input parameter is obtained. A lattice or a table representing dimensional variability is used to determine a variability value for each calculation for given input parameters and dependency relationships among other calculations. After a variability value has been determined for each calculation, calculations are grouped into several groups and executed once per the variability value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 6, 2009
    Date of Patent: May 7, 2013
    Assignee: Pixar
    Inventors: Thomas Douglas Selkirk Duff, Robert L. Cook
  • Patent number: 8436856
    Abstract: A shader can include a series of instructions, among which are horizontal instructions and vertical instructions. Executing such shader for rendering animation information may mean many redundant computations on millions of graphic data points. Thus, vertical instructions are separated out from horizontal instructions and executed in a vertical manner, thereby reducing rendering time and cache space used during the process. That is, a block of instructions is recursively subdivided until a number of instructions that are to be executed in a horizontal manner are approximately minimized in each sub-block. All of the identified vertical sub-blocks can process each data point individually and independently from other data points, thereby achieving various advantages, including, but not limited to, temporary processing, index processing, efficient caching and the like.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 6, 2009
    Date of Patent: May 7, 2013
    Assignee: Pixar
    Inventors: Thomas Douglas Selkirk Duff, Robert L. Cook
  • Patent number: 8411082
    Abstract: An ordered object list is compared with an ordered ray list and if the coordinate value of an entry in the ray list is less than the coordinate value of an entry in the object list, then the ray is added to an active ray list, and a trace of that ray is made against all objects in an active object list. If the coordinate value of the entry in the ray list is greater than the coordinate value of the entry in the object list, then the coordinate value corresponding to the entry in the object list is added to an active object list, and a trace of all rays in the active ray list is made against that coordinate value. Rays and objects are removed from the active lists based on determinations as to whether a trace hit occurred and/or which object point is encountered.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 20, 2010
    Date of Patent: April 2, 2013
    Assignee: Pixar
    Inventors: Robert L. Cook, Thomas Douglas Selkirk Duff, Brian Smits
  • Patent number: 8106906
    Abstract: Users define the aperture shape and brightness characteristics of a virtual lens system to generate optical system effects in computer graphics images. An image sample point is associated with a aperture point within the aperture. The location of the aperture point may be based on the shape of the aperture. The image sample point value may be scaled based on a brightness value of an associated aperture point. Alternatively, the aperture point location may be based on brightness characteristics of the aperture. An optical system transmission function based on the brightness characteristics of the aperture specifies the density distribution of aperture positions within the aperture. The aperture points locations are distributed according to this optical system transmission function so that the out of focus regions or bokeh of images mimic the shape and brightness characteristics of the aperture.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 19, 2008
    Date of Patent: January 31, 2012
    Assignee: Pixar
    Inventor: Thomas Douglas Selkirk Duff
  • Publication number: 20110273609
    Abstract: Light field imaging systems, and in particular light field lenses that can be mated with a variety of conventional cameras (e.g., digital or photographic/film, image and video/movie cameras) to create light field imaging systems. Light field data collected by these light field imaging systems can then be used to produce 2D images, right eye/left eye 3D images, to refocus foreground images and/or background images together or separately (depth of field adjustments), and to move the camera angle, as well as to render and manipulate images using a computer graphics rendering engine and compositing tools.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 4, 2011
    Publication date: November 10, 2011
    Applicant: Pixar
    Inventors: David DiFrancesco, Thomas Douglas Selkirk Duff, Mark Vande Wettering
  • Publication number: 20110249341
    Abstract: Light field imaging systems, and in particular light field lenses that can be mated with a variety of conventional cameras (e.g., digital or photographic/film, image and video/movie cameras) to create light field imaging systems. Light field data collected by these light field imaging systems can then be used to produce 2D images, right eye/left eye 3D images, to refocus foreground images and/or background images together or separately (depth of field adjustments), and to move the camera angle, as well as to render and manipulate images using a computer graphics rendering engine and compositing tools. A doublet lenslet array element for use in light field imaging systems includes a first lenslet array element having a first plurality of lenslet array elements, and a second lenslet array element having a first plurality of lenslet array elements, wherein the first lenslet array element is coupled in close proximity to the second lenslet array element.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 4, 2011
    Publication date: October 13, 2011
    Applicant: Pixar
    Inventors: David DiFrancesco, Thomas Douglas Selkirk Duff, Mark Vande Wettering, Tolis Deslis
  • Publication number: 20110169994
    Abstract: Light field imaging systems, and in particular light field lenses that can be mated with a variety of conventional cameras (e.g., digital or photographic/film, image and video/movie cameras) to create light field imaging systems. Light field data collected by these light field imaging systems can then be used to produce 2D images, right eye/left eye 3D images, to refocus foreground images and/or background images together or separately (depth of field adjustments), and to move the camera angle, as well as to render and manipulate images using a computer graphics rendering engine and compositing tools.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 4, 2010
    Publication date: July 14, 2011
    Applicant: Pixar
    Inventors: David DiFrancesco, Thomas Douglas Selkirk Duff, Mark VandeWettering, Peter Flowers
  • Patent number: 7564457
    Abstract: A method for a computer system includes determining first shading results associated with a geometric object in response to first shading computations and first shading data associated with the geometric object and associated with both a first scene and a second scene, determining second shading results associated with the geometric object in response to second shading computations and second shading data associated with the geometric object, and determining first combined shading results associated with the geometric object in response to the first shading results and to the second shading results, wherein the first combined shading results is associated with the second scene, wherein a second combined shading results is associated with the geometric object, wherein the second combined shading results is associated with the first scene, and wherein the second combined shading results is not determined in response to the second shading results.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 15, 2006
    Date of Patent: July 21, 2009
    Assignee: Pixar
    Inventors: Robert L. Cook, Thomas Douglas Selkirk Duff
  • Patent number: 7129940
    Abstract: A method for a computer system includes receiving a geometric description of an object to be rendered in a first image and a second image, and performing a plurality of rendering operations for the object for the first image and for the second image, wherein the plurality of rendering operations includes a first plurality of rendering operations and at least a second rendering operation, wherein the second rendering operation for the object for the first image and the second rendering operation for the object for the second image are substantially similar, wherein the first plurality of rendering operations is performed for the first image, wherein the first plurality of rendering operations is performed for the second image, and wherein the second rendering operation is performed once for both the first image and for the second image.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 30, 2003
    Date of Patent: October 31, 2006
    Assignee: Pixar
    Inventors: Robert L. Cook, Thomas Douglas Selkirk Duff
  • Patent number: 7095409
    Abstract: A method for shading objects in a first image and a second image includes receiving a geometric description of a first object, performing once for both the first image and the second image, a first set of shading operations for the first object, performing a second set of shading operations for the first object in the first image, performing a third set of shading operations for the first object in the second image, combining results of the first set of shading operations for the first object and results of the second set of shading operations for the first object to determine shading values of the first object in the first image, and combining results of the first set of shading operations for the first object and results of the third set of shading operations for the first object to determine shading values of the first object in the second image.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 30, 2003
    Date of Patent: August 22, 2006
    Assignee: Pixar
    Inventors: Robert L. Cook, Thomas Douglas Selkirk Duff
  • Publication number: 20040217958
    Abstract: A method for shading objects in a first image and a second image includes receiving a geometric description of a first object, performing once for both the first image and the second image, a first set of shading operations for the first object, performing a second set of shading operations for the first object in the first image, performing a third set of shading operations for the first object in the second image, combining results of the first set of shading operations for the first object and results of the second set of shading operations for the first object to determine shading values of the first object in the first image, and combining results of the first set of shading operations for the first object and results of the third set of shading operations for the first object to determine shading values of the first object in the second image.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 30, 2003
    Publication date: November 4, 2004
    Applicant: Pixar
    Inventors: Robert L. Cook, Thomas Douglas Selkirk Duff