Abstract: The normal vector information generating device generates normal vector information on the surface of an object, and includes: an image information obtaining unit obtaining information about an image of the object, the information including luminance information about luminance of light from the object and polarization information about polarization of the light; a shadow area extracting unit extracting an attached shadow area and a cast shadow area from the image based on the luminance information and the polarization information, the attached shadow area appearing on the surface of the object depending on an angle of incidence light, and the cast shadow area appearing on the surface of a material body when the light is blocked by the object; and a normal vector information generating unit generating normal vector information identifying a normal vector on the surface of the object in the attached shadow area using the polarization information.

Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for visually realistic simulation and real-time rendering of natural atmospheric lighting and related phenomena in an outdoor scene represented by an image provided by a simulation environment. The systems and methods of the present invention provide techniques to approximate the visual effects of natural atmospheric lighting and related phenomena that are visually realistic and that can be computed in real-time to render frames of a scene at real-time frame rates per second. The techniques consider the light scattering effects due to sunlight and ambient light in relation to objects, atmospheric particles and other scene elements represented by the image.

Abstract: The coordinates for laying out visual items in two-, three-, or n-dimensional space along an embedded one-manifold or path are calculated and coordinates are generated for placement of the items in a container. A one-manifold may be continuous, discontinuous, be contained entirely within a container or extent beyond a container. The one-manifold may be defined by a set of parameters defining a function, formula or set of points. The container may be a two-dimensional, three-dimensional, or n-dimensional container. Such a mechanism may be employed by a graphics application and may determine the location or positioning of an object or item. The object or item may be one of a set of objects or items. In response to receiving a set of parameters defining a one-manifold, the one-manifold may be embedded within a container.

Abstract: A method for a computer system includes receiving and storing a first model of an animation asset in a first version location of the animation asset, providing a link between a named version of the animation asset to the first version location of the animation asset, wherein a name of the named version is specified by a first user, thereafter receiving and storing a second model of the animation asset in a second version location of the animation asset, providing the first model of the animation asset from the first version location of the animation asset in response to a specification of the named version of the animation asset by a second user, and providing the second model of the animation asset from the second version location of the animation asset in response to a specification of the animation asset by the second user.

Abstract: A collision determination area set for a dog as an object in a virtual three-dimensional space is, for example, a sphere having the center at the chest of the dog and having a radius of 30 in the “on all fours” state, a sphere having the center at the hip of the dog and having a radius of 10 in the “standing” state, and a sphere having the center at the head of the dog and having a radius of 10 in the state of the dog “trying to fawn with another dog” in the virtual three-dimensional space. Using the collision determination area set in this manner, it is determined whether or not the dog has collided against another object. Therefore, a collision determination suitable to individual situations can be realized while suppressing an increase in the amount of calculations required for the collision determination.

Abstract: A hardware tessellation circuit serves as a unified hardware parametric coordinate generator for providing parametric coordinates for tessellation. The tessellation circuit includes control logic that receives tessellation instruction information, such as an instruction indicating which type of multiple tessellation operations to perform, on an incoming primitive wherein the different types of tessellation include discrete tessellation, continuous tessellation and adaptive tessellation. The tessellation circuit also includes shared tessellation logic that is controlled by the control logic, and includes a plurality of shared logic units, such as arithmetic logic units, that are controllable by the control logic based on the type of tessellation detected to be used for the incoming primitive. The shared tessellation logic is controlled to reuse at least some of the logic units for two different tessellation operations defined by the tessellation type information.

Abstract: A system and method for generating a conditional animation of an unknown object is described. In creating the animation, a representative starting point is designated for an object. A representative ending point is also selected by the designer for the object. The designer/developer may then create a representative motion path for the object. The designer then defines a transformation to translate a position of unknown object, when it is determined, relative to the representative starting and ending points and the representative motion path.

Abstract: An animation generating apparatus for generating a three-dimensional animation tracking a moving object includes a camera parameter setting section setting a point of regard and a point of view based on a current position of the moving object using route data indicating a route of the moving object so that the point of regard is located on the route and the point of view is located behind the point of regard along the route, and a rendering processor generating an image by retrieving necessary rendering data from three-dimensional map data based on the point of regard and point of view set by the camera parameter setting section.

Abstract: Computer operations are partitioned for execution by a processor. A plurality of operations to be partitioned is received. The respective priorities for each of the plurality of operations is determined. Ready operations are identified, where a ready operation is an operation that does not have any predecessor operations that have not yet been added to a partition. A determination is made whether adding the ready operations with the highest priorities to the current partition would violate a hardware resource constraint. Based on this determination, the ready operations are added to the partition. The operations added to the partition are provided to a processor for execution.

Abstract: An image processing program creates a gradation of a sharp edge shadow and a gradation of subtle colors. The program causes a computer to perform a step in which a diffuse reflection from a first and second object and a shadow of the first object on the second object in a lighting information texture which are generated by a virtual light hitting the first and second object are superimposed onto a base texture which represents details of the object so that a target object is mapped; a step in which a mirror reflection which is generated by the virtual light hitting the first and second object is calculated so that a specular reflection is generated to surfaces of the first and second object; and a step in which the specular reflection is masked based on mask information provided in the lighting information texture which is mapped to the second object.

Abstract: A method for dithering an image is disclosed, which includes: storing a plurality of dithering parameters corresponding to a predetermined function for a predetermined input intensity range; and dithering pixels of the predetermined input intensity range according to the plurality of dithering parameters.

Abstract: A system and methods are disclosed for automatically approximating an editable surface from a 3D data set or a 3D point set, which may be imaged in the form of a NURBS surface.

Abstract: Methods for rendering font objects include: receiving input identifying an object to be rendered; selecting a data set for rendering the object from: (a) a first data set including font object data in a first format (e.g., trajectory data), and (b) a second data set including font object data in a second format (e.g., outline data); and rendering the object using the selected data set. The data set may be selected based on at least one run time parameter, such as the ppem or space available for the rendering, the desired text size, system resolution, font object complexity, contextual information, etc., to provide a high quality rendered image. Additional data sets (e.g., augmenting data, enhancing data, etc.) may be included to provide more rendering options to further increase the quality of the rendered image under some conditions. The various data sets may be independently created so that each data set can be produced specifically targeted to selected rendering conditions (such as a selected ppem range).

Abstract: A system and method provide for determining in a computer system the intersections between a plurality of rays residing in three dimensional (3D) space and one or more surface elements residing in the 3D space. The rays or lines corresponding to the rays share a common intersection point. The method includes for each of the rays, storing the intersection point of the ray with a projection surface in the 3D space in a data structure in the computer system. For each of the surface elements, determining using projection a two-dimensional (2D) region representing the projection of the surface element onto the projection surface; and determining using intersection testing which points stored in the data structure are inside the 2D region. The points determined to be inside the 2D region represent intersection points between the surface element and the rays corresponding to the points.

Abstract: A data structure for a graph, which is composed by points and line segments connecting adjacent pairs of the points, respectively, of a two- or three-dimensional object comprises a set of point data of the individual points, each of the point data of the points consists of a clockwise or counter clockwise circular ordered adjacency list written in storage areas of a storage medium individually allocated to the point. The adjacency list describes a plurality of adjacent points associated with the point sequentially according to a circular adjacency order as viewed from outside of the graph with address pointers to the storage areas allocated to the adjacent points, respectively, and location pointers associated with the address pointers, respectively, to storage locations of adjacency lists of the adjacent points, respectively, where an address pointer of the point is written.

Abstract: A motion tracking system enables faithful capture of subtle facial and eye motion using a surface electromyography (EMG) detection method to detect muscle movements and an electrooculogram (EOG) detection method to detect eye movements. An embodiment of the motion tracking animation system comprises a plurality of pairs of EOG electrodes adapted to be affixed to the skin surface of the performer at locations adjacent to the performer's eyes. The EOG data comprises electrical signals corresponding to eye movements of a performer during a performance. Programming instructions further provide processing of the EOG data and mapping of processed EOG data onto an animated character. As a result, the animated character will exhibit he same muscle and eye movements as the performer.

Abstract: Aspects of the subject matter described herein relate to applying effects to a target via compositing rendering layers. In aspects, an intent is determined and a area of a target copied to a surface based on the intent. Then, rendering may continue to the target without changing to another target. Later, the surface is composited back to the target to apply an effect to the target.

Abstract: An image generating apparatus for generating a visual field image seen from a photographed person who is photographed in at least one part of plural two-dimensional images, based on the plural two-dimensional images captured by plural image capturing apparatuses, comprises a photographed person's position detector for detecting a position of the photographed person, based on at least two of the plural two-dimensional images; a photographed person's direction detector for detecting a face direction of the photographed person; a three-dimensional information generating section for generating three-dimensional information of space that is photographed, based on at least two of the two-dimensional images; and an image generating section for generating the visual field image seen from the position of the photographed person along the face direction, based on the three-dimensional information, the position of the photographed person, and the face direction of the photographed person.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus are configured to provide data to render (medical) images using direct volume rendering by electronically analyzing a medical volume data set associated with a patient that is automatically electronically divided into a plurality of local histograms having intensity value ranges associated therewith and programmatically generating data used for at least one of tissue detection or tissue classification of tissue having overlapping intensity values.

Abstract: A method and system for shading large volumetric data sets using partial derivatives computed in screen-space. The method and system provide a fast and efficient shading a large datasets. Screen space derivatives are computed efficiently by evaluating neighboring pixel information together. The method can be efficiently implemented using GPUs (graphics processing units) that provides some access to information about neighboring pixels using ddx and ddy fragment processing functions.