Abstract: A method for preparing a presentation of a perspective view of a scene based upon an environment map representing the scene and having environment map indices, which presentation interactively displays viewing planes at any orientation, said viewing planes having scanlines, the method including generating a look-up table tabulating the environment map indices, the look-up table being characterized in that each of the scanlines of the viewing planes corresponds to information within a scanline of the look-up table, and storing the look-up table. A system is also described and claimed.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for storing an animation. A set of keyframes created from a video is stored in an animation object. One or more values that indicate a first sequence of selected keyframes from the set of keyframes is stored in the animation object along with information for interpolating between the keyframes of the first sequence. One or more values that indicate a second sequence of selected keyframes from the set of keyframes is also stored in the animation object along with information for interpolating between the keyframes of the second sequence. The number of keyframes in the second sequence is fewer than the number of keyframes in the first sequence.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for rendering perspective views of a 3D scene. The method of the present invention includes the steps of: providing an environment map containing pixel values representing the scene; generating a scanline-coherent look-up table containing environment map indices ordered in scanlines; mapping scanlines of a viewing plane to a portion of the look-up table scanlines based upon a pitch angle of the perspective view to be rendered; locating pixel values in a portion of the environment map based on a yaw angle and based on the environment map indices stored in the portion of the look-up table scanlines to which the viewing plane scanlines are mapped; writing the located pixel values into the viewing plane; and rendering the viewing plane onto a display.

Abstract: An animation system employs scattered data interpolation to provide fluent animation of still images. Discontinuities, such as cuts and holes, can be established within an image, to limit the range over which interpolation is carried out for a given deformation of a feature in the image, and thereby refine the control exerted by animated features. The amount of computational time and effort required to interpolate the change from one frame of an animation to the next is reduced by concentrating computation of the deformed image on areas of change. Computational requirements are further reduced by taking advantage of frame-to-frame coherence.