Image-based rendering is a powerful new approach for generating real-time photorealistic computer graphics. It can provide convincing animations without an explicit geometric representation. We use the “plenoptic function” of Adelson and Bergen to provide a concise problem statement for image-based rendering paradigms, such as morphing and view interpolation. The plenoptic function is a parameterized function for describing everything that is visible from a given point in space. We present an image-based rendering system based on sampling, reconstructing, and resampling the plenoptic function. In addition, we introduce a novel visible surface algorithm and a geometric invariant for cylindrical projections that is equivalent to the epipolar constraint defined for planar projections.

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This paper describes a biologically motivated method of texture synthesis called reaction-diffusion and demonstrates how these textures can be generated in a manner that directly matches the geometry of a given surface. Reaction-diffusion is a process in which two or more chemicals diffuse at unequal rates over a surface and react with one another to form stable patterns such as spots and stripes. Biologists and mathematicians have explored the patterns made by several reaction-diffusion systems. We extend the range of textures that have previously been generated by using a cascade of multiple reaction-diffusion systems in which one system lays down an initial pattern and then one or more later systems refine the pattern. Examples of patterns generated by such a cascade process include the clusters of spots on leopards known as rosettes and the web-like patterns found on giraffes. In addition, this paper introduces a method by which reaction-diffusion textures are created to match the geometry of an arbitrary polyhedral surface. This is accomplished by creating a mesh over a given surface and then simulating the reactiondiffusion process directly on this mesh. This avoids the often difficult task of assigning texture coordinates to a complex surface. A mesh is generated by evenly distributing points over the model using relaxation and then determining which points are adjacent by constructing their Voronoi regions. Textures are rendered directly from the mesh by using a weighted sum of mesh values to compute surface color at a given position. Such textures can also be used as bump maps.

We present a method for rendering scenes with fine detail via an object called a texel, a rendering primitive inspired by volume den-sities mixed with anisotropic lighting models. This technique solves a long outstanding problem in image synthesis: the rendering of furry surfaces.

This paper surveys methods for simplifying and approximating polygonal surfaces. A polygonal surface is a piecewiselinear surface in 3-D defined by a set of polygons

This paper appeared in IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications, Nov. 1986, pp. 56-67. An earlier version of thi aper appeared in Graphics Interface '86, May 1986, pp. 207-212. This postscript version is missing all of the paste-up -

The applications of texture mapping in computer graphics and image distortion (warping) in image processing share a core of fundamental techniques. We explore two of these techniques, the twodimensional geometric mappings that arise in the parameterization and projection of textures onto surfaces, and the filters necessary to eliminate aliasing when an image is resampled during texture mapping or warping. With respect to mappings, this work presents a tutorial on three common classes of mapping: the affine, bilinear, and projective. For resampling, this work develops a new theory describing the ideal, space variant antialiasing filter for signals warped and resampled according to an arbitrary mapping. Efficient implementations of the mapping and filtering techniques are discussed and demonstrated.

Leonard McMillan Jr. An Image-Based Approach to Three-Dimensional Computer Graphics (Under the direction of Gary Bishop) The conventional approach to three-dimensional computer graphics produces images from geometric scene descriptions by simulating the interaction of light with matter. My research explores an alternative approach that replaces the geometric scene description with perspective images and replaces the simulation process with data interpolation. I derive an image-warping equation that maps the visible points in a reference image to their correct positions in any desired view. This mapping from reference image to desired image is determined by the center-of-projection and pinhole-camera model of the two images and by a generalized disparity value associated with each point in the reference image. This generalized disparity value, which represents the structure of the scene, can be determined from point correspondences between multiple reference images. The image-warpi...

Visibility algorithms for walkthrough and related applications have grown into a significant area, spurred by the growth in the complexity of models and the need for highly interactive ways of navigating them. In this survey, we review the fundamental issues in visibility and conduct an overview of the visibility culling techniques developed in the last decade. The taxonomy we use distinguishes between point-based and from-region methods. Point-based methods are further subdivided into object and image-precision techniques, while from-region approaches can take advantage of the cell-and-portal structure of architectural environments or handle generic scenes.

The A-buffer (anti-aliased, area-averaged, accumulation buffer) is a general hidden surface mechanism suited to medium scale virtual memory computers. It resolves visibility among an arbitrary collection of opaque, transparent, and intersecting objects. Using an easy to compute Fourier window (box flter), it increases the effective image resolution many times over the Z-buffer, with a moderate increase in cost. The A-buffer is incorporated into the REYES 3-D rendering system at Lucasfilm and was used successfully in the "Genesis Demo " sequence in