Abstract: A method renders a volume data set including a plurality of voxels. A sampling rate for each voxel in a volume data set is determined. Each voxel is filtered according to the sampling rate and pixels for an output image are generated from the filtered voxels.

Abstract: A process for calculating a meshed description of a realization of an oil-bearing reservoir takes as its starting point a reference realization of the reservoir with a plurality of stratigraphic surfaces, a meshed reference description for the reference realization comprising a plurality of planes some of which describe the stratigraphic surfaces, each plane comprising a plurality of points, at least two stratigraphic surfaces of the realization corresponding to two stratigraphic surfaces of the reference realization. A plane of the meshed description representing one of the two stratigraphic surfaces of the realization is obtained by applying displacements to the points of the planes of the reference description, making it possible to pass from the reference stratigraphic surface to the stratigraphic surface in the realization. The other planes of the description are obtained thereafter by interpolation.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method and a device for two-dimensionally representing a three-dimensional world, in which rays are combined into packets during ray tracing, and said packets of rays are processed in adequate steps.

Abstract: A system and process for generating, and then rendering and displaying, an interactive viewpoint video in which a user can watch a dynamic scene while manipulating (freezing, slowing down, or reversing) time and changing the viewpoint at will. In general, the interactive viewpoint video is generated using a small number of cameras to capture multiple video streams. A multi-view 3D reconstruction and matting technique is employed to create a layered representation of the video frames that enables both efficient compression and interactive playback of the captured dynamic scene, while at the same time allowing for real-time rendering.

Abstract: A system and method is provided for defining a bi-cubic spline surface in a computing environment. One operation in the method is creating a control mesh with a substantially rectangular structure. A further operation is inferring from the control mesh the tensor product B-spline basis functions for each control point. The surface can then be computed based on the basis functions and the control mesh.

Abstract: A secondary frame buffer is provided for use by classic applications designed to paint directly to a frame buffer. Classic applications paint their windows to the secondary frame buffer, not to the primary frame buffer. A compositor reads window data from the secondary frame buffer and paints it to the primary frame buffer. The compositor also reads window data written to back buffers by other applications and paints that data to the primary frame buffer. Since the compositor maintains visible region data for all windows, the windows are correctly painted to the primary frame buffer whether they are from the back-buffered windows or from classic applications. In addition, optimizations in classic applications that cause classic windows to be inappropriately painted over newer style windows no longer have this effect, since the compositor is responsible for painting legacy windows to the frame buffer, not the applications themselves.

Abstract: Embodiments of the invention relate to graphics rendering in which Z-buffering tests are performed at the front of the rendering pipeline. Particularly, Z-buffering test logic at the front of the rendering pipeline is coupled to a render cache memory, which includes a Z-buffer, such that Z-buffering can be accomplished at the front of the rendering pipeline.

Abstract: A system and method for interfacing graphics program modules written to execute on a plurality of functional units of a graphics processor using a shared memory. A central processing unit (CPU) receives a first graphics program module that outputs a first parameter referenced by a first graphics program module identifier, a second graphics program module that inputs the first parameter by referencing the first graphics program module identifier, and a first data structure that includes, in a pre-defined order, a list of first data structure identifiers. The CPU identifies a memory location in the shared memory, based on the pre-defined order of the first data structure identifiers, for one of the first data structure identifiers that is the same as the first graphics program module identifier. The CPU modifies the first and second graphics program modules to reference the first parameter by the identified memory location in the shared memory.

Abstract: A rapid simulation is made to create an illuminated scene of object with a simplified arithmetic of calculating an intended color change effect. The object illuminated with lighting fixtures are divided into discrete elements each having a lamp-by-element table defining lamp color component values of each of the influencing lighting fixtures. In accordance with the changes in the output characteristic and/or the position of the lighting fixture, it is determined which one or ones of the discrete elements are influenced by the changes. Then, the lamp-by-element tables only associated with thus determined elements are picked up in order to modify the color component values as a function of the changing output characteristic and the position of the influencing lighting fixture. The resulting color components at each discrete element are then processed to provide a color distribution over the array of the elements for rendering the view of the illuminated scene.

Abstract: The determination of the final posed position is optimized by tracking the changes in animation variables associated with the sequence of deformers over two or more poses. The earliest deformer of the sequence affected by a changed animation variable is designated the cached deformer, and the input to this deformer is stored for future use. For a subsequent pose, the animation variables changed from the previous pose are identified, and the earliest deformer of the sequence affected by these changed animation variables is compared with the cached deformer. If the earliest deformer affected is the cached deformer or is to be processed after the cached deformer, the final posed position of the control point can be determined from the stored intermediate value of the control point, rather than from the initial position of the control point.

Abstract: A multi-chip system is disclosed for distributing the convolution process. Rather than having multiple convolution chips working in parallel with each chip working on a different portion of the screen, a new design utilizes chips working in series. Each chip is responsible for a different interleaved region of screen space. Each chip performs part of the convolution process for a pixel and sends a partial result on to the next chip. The final chip completes the convolution and stores the filtered pixel. An alternate design interconnects chips in groups. The chips within a group operate in series, whereas the groups may operate in parallel.

Abstract: A multilayer data animation program is provided that controls the simultaneous display of objects that represent complex or interrelated data, where the appearance of the objects may change over time to reflect changes in the data. The multilayer data animation program layers the objects in an indicator having a hierarchy of layers based on the importance of the data that each object represents relative to the data that the other objects represent. The objects are periodically updated to reflect changes in the data, and the multilayer data animation program alters the display of the objects in accordance with the layer hierarchy when the display of objects on one layer conflicts with objects on another layer.

Abstract: The present invention includes a method and apparatus for representing joint rotations of character models that eliminates the artifacts imposed by the ambiguities inherent in four angle rotations. An embodiment of the invention transforms joint angles from their original four angle representations into a set of defrobulated angles that provides the least confusion between position and twist information. Manipulating the character model using the set of defrobulated angles eliminates the angular discontinuities responsible visual “popping” and other visual discontinuities. In an embodiment, an animator specifies a pose using joint angles in their four angle Euler form. The joint angles of the pose is transformed to the defrobulated form. The defrobulated joint angles are weighted and applied to the points of the character model. The weighted sum of the defrobulated angles for each point are then converted back to an Euler angle form to pose the point.

Abstract: A minimum buffer data amount and a minimum reproduction delay time are found from a line approximation graphic form approximating a media read line and used as a basis for determining whether or not data can be reproduced in a real-time manner from a recording medium at a requested reproduction rate. The media read line is a line expressing the change in cumulative amount of data read out from the recording medium. The minimum buffer data amount is the minimum of the amount of data stored in a buffer as data required in reproduction of the data in a real-time manner at the requested reproduction rate. The minimum reproduction delay time is the minimum of a reproduction delay time from the start of an operation to read out the data from the recording medium to the start of an operation to reproduce the data.

Abstract: Techniques for assigning a subpath attribute to a subpath in a drawing are disclosed. One technique includes editing the drawing to define a current path having a current subpath, matching a previous vertex in a previous path with a current vertex in the current path, and assigning a current subpath attribute to the current subpath based on the vertex match. Another technique includes editing the drawing to define a current path having a current subpath, comparing the current subpath with a previous subpath having a previous subpath attribute, and assigning a previous subpath attribute to the current subpath based on the comparison.

Abstract: A three-dimensional (3D) model OB, a plane of projection PL, a light source L and a reference viewpoint O are defined in a virtual space on a computer. When a line of sight LC for tracing from the reference viewpoint O to the 3D model OB and to the light source L is determined, the view point is corrected to be shifted from the reference viewpoint O by a displacement VD for each projection pixel PP, to obtain a proper line of sight LC. Accordingly, a computer-graphics image as thus rendered can be provided to be composited with a picture taken from life by a camera, thereby generating a composite image having a natural impression.

Abstract: Video game play rendered using a panoramic view of a cube map style rendering uses an associated depth map to supply three-dimensionality to the pre-rendered scene. The resulting panoramic rendering may be indistinguishable from rendering the original scene in real-time except that the background is of pre-rendered quality.

Abstract: Rendering an outline font. Rendering an outline font by adding Bezier control points to further define a contour of an outline font and applying an in or out test to determine if a pixel falls within the contour of an outline font.

Abstract: A high-speed marker-free motion capture, which is capable of powerfully detecting a body's feature points corresponding to a body's end portions such as a head, hands, feet, trunk, arms and legs at a high speed in an illumination change or background or noises of cameras. The extracted feature points of the body can be directly tracked stably in a 3-dimensional space. The position errors of the feature points due to the change of the illumination conditions or a shadow can be automatically corrected and the feature points can be stably tracked with respect to overlapping and disappearance of the feature points. Further, when coordinates of the middle joints are estimated using 3-dimensional coordinates of the extracted feature points of the body, the present invention restores a human model by estimating the positions of the middle joints of the actor with high accuracy without using a motion database, thereby securing the stability and reality of the 3-dimensional motion data required in the motion capture.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus for storing and retrieving data. In one implementation, a system includes: a data source, providing data in a first order; a data destination, receiving data in a second order; at least four memories, each having memory pages, data stored to at least two memories and retrieved from at least two memories in parallel, each buffer page having entries along a first dimension corresponding to the first order and entries along a second dimension corresponding to the second order, data stored in the first order and retrieved in the second order, at least one memory page stores data in multiple locations according to the first and second orders, two data elements consecutive in the first order stored in parallel to the memories, at least two data elements consecutive in the second order retrieved in parallel from the memories.