Collaborative Research in Computer Graphics: Real-Time Visualization and Rendering of Complex Scenes

实时渲染复杂的照明，逼真的材料，光散射的精确模拟，具有交互操作参数的能力，是这个项目所面临的挑战。关于外观表示的基本问题进行了探索，导致了一类新的实时算法的发展。具体而言，重点是三个主要方向：(i)外观表征和光传输复杂性的数学和实证分析；（ii）计算技术，如精到粗和粗到精算法、函数字典和层次主成分分析；（iii）支持照明、材料和视点交互操作的算法和系统。计算机图形学和科学可视化越来越多地应用于模拟和培训、汽车设计、建筑渲染、国防、电子商务和娱乐等领域。在今天的技术下，使用复杂但缓慢的渲染算法可以创造出惊人的逼真图像。这些算法不能满足日益增长的对有效的方法来操纵和与3D环境交互的需求。现代个人电脑可以以交互速率渲染数百万个多边形的场景，但这种性能是以质量和真实感的相当大的损失为代价的。这个项目试图克服这些限制：以交互速率产生高度逼真的图像。在过去的三十年里，计算机图形学研究创造了提高计算机生成图像的真实感和生成速度的技术。然而，目前还没有一种广泛使用的方法来创造逼真的图像，在实践中创造逼真的图像仍然很困难。该项目旨在开发一种实用的方法，用于逼真的图像创作，以解决图形和感知社区认为突出的视觉效果。该方法旨在是健壮的，相对简单的，并有潜力在未来十年是交互式的。快速生成逼真图像的能力在许多应用程序中都很有用。例如，飞行和驾驶模拟器依赖于逼真的图像，但这些系统的互动性限制了现实的可行性。拟议的工作应扩大这些限制。所提议的方法也有助于为规划和教育产生图像；可以创建图像来帮助可视化重建工作、栖息地变化和城市规划的结果。最后，该方法应该有助于生成用于自动车辆输入的合成图像，其中可以快速且低成本地生成许多不同的场景和大气条件。

ABSTRACTReal-time rendering with complex illumination, realistic materials, and anaccurate simulation of light scattering, with the ability to manipulateparameters interactively, is the challenge addressed in this project.Fundamental questions about the representation of appearance are explored,resulting in the development of a new class of real-time algorithms.Specifically, the focus is on three main directions: (i) Mathematical andEmpirical Analysis of the complexity of appearance representations andlight transport; (ii) Computational Techniques such as fine-to coarse andcoarse-to-fine algorithms, function dictionaries, and hierarchicalprincipal component analysis; and (iii) Algorithms and Systems supportinginteractive manipulation of illumination, materials, and viewpoint.Computer graphics and scientific visualization is increasingly used inareas such as simulation and training, automobile design, architecturalrenderings, defense, electronic commerce, and entertainment. With today'stechnology, it is possible to create strikingly realistic images usingsophisticated, but also slow rendering algorithms. These algorithmscannot address the growing need for effective methods to manipulate andinteract with 3D environments. Modern PCs can render scenes withmillions of polygons at interactive rates, but this performance comesat the cost of a considerable loss in quality and realism. This projectseeks to overcome these limitations: producing highly realistic imagesat interactive rates.Over the last thirty years computer graphics research has created technology that improves both the realism and generation speed of computer-generated images. However, there is no widely used method for creating realistic images, and it remains difficult in practice to create realistic images. This project aims to develop a practical method for realistic image creation that addresses the visual effects believed to be salient by the graphics and perception communities. The method is intended to be robust, relatively simple, and to have the potential to be interactive in the next decade.The ability to rapidly generate realistic images is useful in many applications. For example, flight and driving simulators rely on realistic imagery, but the interactive nature of these systems limits the realism that is feasible. The proposed work should extend these limits. The proposed method would also be useful for generating images for planning and education; images could be created to help visualize the results of reconstruction efforts, habitat change, and urban planning. Finally the method should be useful for generating synthetic images for input to automated vehicles, where many different scenes and atmospheric conditions could be generated rapidly and at low expense.