CS 348C - Topics in Computer Graphics

Sensing for graphics

Quarter
Winter, 1997
Units
3 (+/NC or letter grade)
Time
Tue/Thu 2:45 - 4:00
Place
392 Gates Hall (graphics lab conference room)
Instructors
Marc Levoy and Brian Curless
Office hours
Marc Levoy: Tue/Thu, 11:00 - 12:15
Brian Curless: Mon/Wed, 1:15 - 2:30
Prerequisite
CS 248 or equivalent.
Televised?
No

Course abstract

This seminar course will focus on the problem of getting the physical world into the computer. The premise is that our ability to model and animate complex environments would be greatly enhanced if we could directly measure properties of the physical world. Motivated by this idea and by recent improvements in sensing technologies, the graphics community is gradually moving toward systems that in various ways combine analytical and empirical methods. The recent spurt in image-based modeling and rendering methods exemplifies this trend.

As in previous versions of CS 348C, this is a mixed lecture, reading, and project course. Lectures and readings will cover technologies and methods in the following four areas:

We will then discuss the application of these ideas to design, simulation, and animation, and we will survey the likely impact on the manufacturing, entertainment, games, and online markets. Students are expected to participate in class discussions, write a short survey paper, and do a project. A variety of video hardware, 3D scanning and tracking systems, and other exotic I/O devices are available to leverage the class projects. We also have access to many commercial modeling, animation, and rendering packages.

The course is targeted to both CS and EE students. This reflects our conviction that successful researchers in this area must understand both the algorithms and the underlying technologies.


[email protected]
December 12, 1996