WO1995027263A1 - Rendering 3-d scenes in computer graphics - Google Patents
Rendering 3-d scenes in computer graphics Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- WO1995027263A1 WO1995027263A1 PCT/GB1995/000746 GB9500746W WO9527263A1 WO 1995027263 A1 WO1995027263 A1 WO 1995027263A1 GB 9500746 W GB9500746 W GB 9500746W WO 9527263 A1 WO9527263 A1 WO 9527263A1
- Authority
- WO
- WIPO (PCT)
- Prior art keywords
- faces
- scanline
- active
- list
- edges
- Prior art date
Links
Classifications
-
- G—PHYSICS
- G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
- G06T—IMAGE DATA PROCESSING OR GENERATION, IN GENERAL
- G06T15/00—3D [Three Dimensional] image rendering
- G06T15/10—Geometric effects
- G06T15/40—Hidden part removal
- G06T15/405—Hidden part removal using Z-buffer
Landscapes
- Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Geometry (AREA)
- Computer Graphics (AREA)
- General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
- Theoretical Computer Science (AREA)
- Image Generation (AREA)
Abstract
Description
Rendering 3-D scenes in Computer Graphics This invention relates to 3-D computer graphics. Converting the information relating to a 3-D image into a 2-D projection for a computer requires an assessment of which objects are visible, and which are hidden by others. In doing this, it is conventional to analyse all surfaces of objects into smaller polygonal flat faces defined by the coordinates of those faces, often triangles. The images for an animation (e.g. for computer games), have to be produced in real time, i.e. at a rate that gives the impression of fairly smooth movement. The current techniques are as follows: Z-Buffer - A depth value is kept for each image pixel. Each face in the scene is rendered, and at each pixel the new depth is compared with that already in the image. If the new depth is nearer to the observer than the old, the image pixel and depth are updated. Painters algorithm - Each face in the scene is rendered into the image, the faces are visited in the order 'furthest' to 'nearest'. This order may be generated by sorting the faces at runtime, or by using a binary space partition that was calculated offline. Scanline Z Buffer - The image is traversed in scanline order. As each scanline is processed, the faces that intersect this scanline are maintained in an active list. A set of depth values are maintained, corresponding to the pixels in a scanline. For each of the current active faces, the section that intersects the current scanline is rendered. At each pixel, a depth test is made, and the image pixel is only updated if the new pixel is nearer. Scanline - The image is traversed in scanline order. As each scanline is processed, the faces that intersect this scanline are maintained in an active list. The faces in the active list are sorted along the horizontal axis by the first scanline pixel which they intersect. This sorted list is then processed to generate the sections of faces that are frontmost. Each of these visible sections is then rendered into the output image. These techniques suffer from various disadvantages: Z Buffer - A large amount of memory is consumed by maintaining a depth value per image pixel. A test is performed per pixel to find out if it is obscured. Painters Algorithm - Fully correct sorting is time consuming. An approximate sort can be used, but this leads to visual artifacts. Binary Space Partitions can be used to accelerate the sorting, at the cost of making some or all of the 3-D scene unchangeable. Scanline Z Buffer - Extra work is required to maintain the active lists. All the above techniques suffer from the problem that the value for an image pixel may be generated several times, once for every face that covers that pixel. Only the 'nearest' value will survive into the output image. If there are complex calculations needed to generate a pixel's colour, the extra work can amount to a significant portion of the overall processing time. Scanline - Extra work is required to maintain and sort lists of active faces. The invention proposes a new technique which is designed to speed up processing while saving processing power. The invention proposes a method of rendering a 2-D image which includes the steps of analysing surfaces facing the camera into scanline sequences which. represent continuous surfaces, checking depth values of those surfaces and discarding without rendering those objects or surfaces lying behind a foremost surface. This has the effect of extending the scanline algorithm to reduce the amount of work managing and processing lists of faces by exploiting the fact that most 3-D scenes are constructed from continuous surfaces made up of adjoining faces. The invention also extends to image generating apparatus for rendering images by the method herein disclosed. The apparatus includes the means necessary to carry out the described method steps and may be in hardware or software form or in any combination thereof. These means will be apparent to the skilled reader from the teachings herein. In order that the invention shall be fully understood, a more detailed example of the technique will now be described. A 3-D scene is fully described by defining for each object a series of faces (which together make up a surface) employing coordinates which define the vertices, edges connecting each two vertices, and faces formed within a set of connected edges. As a first step, the faces are examined to see whether the camera is in front of or behind the face. If behind, then the face is away from the camera on the back of the object and can be ignored. The next step is to look in turn at all the faces which are facing the camera. One imagines going around the edges of each face once with a pen, and keeping a count of how many times one passes over each edge in doing so. Starting from zero, any edge. at the silhouette of an object will accumulate a count of 1; an edge between two faces will count 2. Moreover, each edge is marked to say which face is to right or left of it. Using this information, two lists are built up for each scanline. A first list identifies those visible silhouette edges which become active on that scanline; the second lists all other edges that become active. Now the scene is considered by scanline in turn. A third list is prepared of active surfaces (i.e. sequences of faces). As each new lefthand silhouette edge becomes active on the scanline, an active surface is logged. As other active edges are noted from the second list, it is added to one of the existing active surfaces in the third list by updating the adjoining faces to indicate that this edge is now their neighbour. Thus, each active surface (without regard to depth) is enumerated by starting at the lefthand silhouette edge and then following the neighbour references between edges and faces until the righthand edge is reached. This active list of surfaces is now processed to find the visible segments. The scanline is broken up into runs (groups of pixels separated by left or right hand edges of surfaces) . These runs are enumerated in order. During this process, an active list of surfaces that span the run is maintained, sorted by nearest depth. If there are no surfaces in the list for a run, then the section of the scanline is the background colour. If the furthest depth of the first surface is greater than the nearest depth of any further surfaces on the list, than that surface is rendered, and the next run processed. This technique, although some mpre memory is required, makes it possible to perform bulk rejection of obscured parts of a scene, based on accepting whole surfaces formed by linked sequences of faces. Thus, considerably less processing is required than simple scanline techniques. There are complex areas of a scene which do not lend themselves to this simplified treatment, for example where a run has two or more surfaces of which the depth overlap. This may require that such areas of the scene are treated in more detail by conventional techniques. These areas will require more processing than usual and be slower, but these are usually a minority of the scene and the savings on the majority are greater. The disclosures in British patent application no. 9406509.1, from which this application claims priority, and in the abstract accompanying this application are incorporated herein by reference.
Claims
Priority Applications (3)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
JP7525511A JPH09511083A (en) | 1994-03-31 | 1995-03-31 | 3-D representation in computer graphics |
EP95913278A EP0753181A1 (en) | 1994-03-31 | 1995-03-31 | Rendering 3-d scenes in computer graphics |
CA002185906A CA2185906A1 (en) | 1994-03-31 | 1995-03-31 | Rendering 3-d scenes in computer graphics |
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
GB9406509A GB9406509D0 (en) | 1994-03-31 | 1994-03-31 | Rendering 3-d scenes in computer graphics |
GB9406509.1 | 1994-03-31 |
Publications (1)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
WO1995027263A1 true WO1995027263A1 (en) | 1995-10-12 |
Family
ID=10752896
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
PCT/GB1995/000746 WO1995027263A1 (en) | 1994-03-31 | 1995-03-31 | Rendering 3-d scenes in computer graphics |
Country Status (5)
Country | Link |
---|---|
EP (1) | EP0753181A1 (en) |
JP (1) | JPH09511083A (en) |
CA (1) | CA2185906A1 (en) |
GB (1) | GB9406509D0 (en) |
WO (1) | WO1995027263A1 (en) |
Cited By (4)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
EP0840915A1 (en) * | 1995-07-26 | 1998-05-13 | Raycer, Incorporated | Method and apparatus for span sorting rendering system |
US6410643B1 (en) | 2000-03-09 | 2002-06-25 | Surmodics, Inc. | Solid phase synthesis method and reagent |
USRE38078E1 (en) | 1994-04-21 | 2003-04-15 | Apple Computer, Inc. | Graphical rendering system using simultaneous parallel query Z-buffer and method therefor |
US9298311B2 (en) | 2005-06-23 | 2016-03-29 | Apple Inc. | Trackpad sensitivity compensation |
Families Citing this family (1)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US7583263B2 (en) * | 2003-12-09 | 2009-09-01 | Siemens Product Lifecycle Management Software Inc. | System and method for transparency rendering |
Citations (4)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
FR2406927A1 (en) * | 1977-10-19 | 1979-05-18 | Inst Avtomatiki Elektrometri | DEVICE FOR THE PRODUCTION OF BLACK AND WHITE OR COLOR IMAGES OF THREE-DIMENSIONAL OBJECTS ON REAL-TIME TELEVISION SCREEN |
EP0300703A2 (en) * | 1987-07-20 | 1989-01-25 | General Electric Company | Depth buffer priority processing for real time computer image generating systems |
EP0503251A2 (en) * | 1991-03-12 | 1992-09-16 | International Business Machines Corporation | Direct display of CSG expression by use of depth buffers |
EP0531157A2 (en) * | 1991-09-06 | 1993-03-10 | Canon Kabushiki Kaisha | Three dimensional graphics processing |
-
1994
- 1994-03-31 GB GB9406509A patent/GB9406509D0/en active Pending
-
1995
- 1995-03-31 EP EP95913278A patent/EP0753181A1/en not_active Withdrawn
- 1995-03-31 CA CA002185906A patent/CA2185906A1/en not_active Abandoned
- 1995-03-31 WO PCT/GB1995/000746 patent/WO1995027263A1/en not_active Application Discontinuation
- 1995-03-31 JP JP7525511A patent/JPH09511083A/en active Pending
Patent Citations (4)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
FR2406927A1 (en) * | 1977-10-19 | 1979-05-18 | Inst Avtomatiki Elektrometri | DEVICE FOR THE PRODUCTION OF BLACK AND WHITE OR COLOR IMAGES OF THREE-DIMENSIONAL OBJECTS ON REAL-TIME TELEVISION SCREEN |
EP0300703A2 (en) * | 1987-07-20 | 1989-01-25 | General Electric Company | Depth buffer priority processing for real time computer image generating systems |
EP0503251A2 (en) * | 1991-03-12 | 1992-09-16 | International Business Machines Corporation | Direct display of CSG expression by use of depth buffers |
EP0531157A2 (en) * | 1991-09-06 | 1993-03-10 | Canon Kabushiki Kaisha | Three dimensional graphics processing |
Cited By (6)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
USRE38078E1 (en) | 1994-04-21 | 2003-04-15 | Apple Computer, Inc. | Graphical rendering system using simultaneous parallel query Z-buffer and method therefor |
EP0840915A1 (en) * | 1995-07-26 | 1998-05-13 | Raycer, Incorporated | Method and apparatus for span sorting rendering system |
EP0840915A4 (en) * | 1995-07-26 | 1998-11-04 | Raycer Inc | Method and apparatus for span sorting rendering system |
US5977987A (en) * | 1995-07-26 | 1999-11-02 | Raycer, Incorporated | Method and apparatus for span and subspan sorting rendering system |
US6410643B1 (en) | 2000-03-09 | 2002-06-25 | Surmodics, Inc. | Solid phase synthesis method and reagent |
US9298311B2 (en) | 2005-06-23 | 2016-03-29 | Apple Inc. | Trackpad sensitivity compensation |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
JPH09511083A (en) | 1997-11-04 |
EP0753181A1 (en) | 1997-01-15 |
CA2185906A1 (en) | 1995-10-12 |
GB9406509D0 (en) | 1994-05-25 |
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