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CAD/CAM/CIM system, 3D technology, Technology application, CAD-CAM systems -- Usage, Degrees of freedom (Mechanics) -- Analysis, Footwear industry -- Technology application, and Three-dimensional display systems -- Usage

GUI, Voreen (Application development software) -- Evaluation, Computer graphics -- Usage, Graphical user interface -- Analysis, and Visualization (Computers) -- Analysis

Computer graphics -- Research, Image processing -- Research, Face -- Research, and Perception -- Research

Wavelet-based methods are proposed for prototyping facial textures and for transforming the age of facial images. Transforming facial images has applications in areas such as psychology, medicine, and forensics.

Virtual reality, Computer graphics, and Interactive computer systems -- Research

A rapid prototyping environment, dubbed Alice, is being developed that can generate environments which will allow people without highly technical computer backgrounds to create programs for virtual reality (VR). Alice programs are written in Python, a simple language that novice programmers can use. Users can also manipulate GUI control panels and object within an already created virtual environment to create their won worlds. The programming concepts that went into creating Alice are discussed.

Global illumination refers to a complete shading model that simulates real lighting and reflection as accurately as possible. Whether used for product prototyping or special effects for entertainment, the goal is to match the appearance of the real world. The origins of global illumination come at the intersection of a steady progression of shading models with the ancient simulation technique of ray tracing.

Today's film and advertisement production heavily uses computer graphics combined with living actors by chroma keying. The matchmoving process typically takes a considerable manual effort. Semiautomatic matchmoving tools exist as well, but they still work offline and require manual check-up and correction. In this paper, we propose an instant matchmoving solution for green screen. It uses a recent technique of planar uniform marker fields. Our technique can be used in indie and professional filmmaking as a cheap and ultramobile virtual camera, and for shot prototyping and storyboard creation. The matchmoving technique based on marker fields of shades of green is very computationally efficient: we developed and present in this paper a mobile application running at 33 FPS. Our technique is thus available to anyone with a smartphone at low cost and with an easy setup, opening space for new levels of filmmakers' creative expression.

We introduce deferred warping, a novel approach for real-time deformation of 3D objects attached to an animated or manipulated surface. Our target application is virtual prototyping of garments where 2D pattern modeling is combined with 3D garment simulation which allows an immediate validation of the design. The technique works in two steps: First, the surface deformation of the target object is determined and the resulting transformation field is stored as a matrix texture. Then the matrix texture is used as look-up table to transform a given geometry onto a deformed surface. Splitting the process in two steps yields a large flexibility since different attachment types can be realized by simply defining specific mapping functions. Our technique can directly handle complex topology changes within the surface. We demonstrate a fast implementation in the vertex shading stage allowing the use of highly decorated surfaces with millions of triangles in real-time.

A variety of visualization guidelines, principles, and techniques are available to help create a visualization-based dashboard, but few publications discuss the experience of designing dashboards in the real world. This article discuss the lessons learned from designing applications for small start-up companies and institutions. From their experience as visualization practitioners, the authors confirm the need for tailored and customizable approaches, emphasize the need for a quicker way to create functional prototypes, point out frequent misconceptions on the scope of a functional prototype, discuss how performance can affect prototyping, and discuss the resistance of industrial partners to involve their customers in requirements gathering.

Shape articulation transforms a lifeless geometric object into a vibrant character. Computers enrich artists' toolsets dramatically. They not only endow artists with the power to manipulate virtual 2D and 3D scenes, but they also eliminate tedium and expedite prototyping, freeing artists to focus on creative aspects. With such power comes a temptation to lean entirely on the computer. Computationally intensive animation systems sacrifice real-time feedback for physical accuracy. How can we leverage modern computational power to create the best possible shape deformations while maintaining real-time performance as a mandatory invariant? This article summarizes efforts to answer this, culminating in a deformation system with the quality of slow, nonlinear optimization, but at lightning speed.

Virtual reality -- Usage, Computer-aided design -- Evaluation, Vehicles -- Design and construction, and Work group computing -- Evaluation

A group from the National Center for Supercomputing Applications teamed up with the German National Research Center for Information Technology to develop the Virtual Prototyping System (VPS), a collaborative virtual prototyping system for Caterpillar. VPS enables engineers in the US and Belgium to collaborate on vehicle designs using distributed virtual reality. It supports collaborative design review and interactive redesign.

Animals, Cell Line, Tumor, Female, Humans, Imaging, Three-Dimensional methods, Male, Mice, Cellular Structures ultrastructure, Computer Graphics, Cytological Techniques methods, Diagnostic Imaging methods, and Visible Human Projects

Researchers analyzed and presented volume data from the Visible Human Project (VHP) and data from high-resolution 3D ion-abrasion scanning electron microscopy (IA-SEM). They acquired the VHP data using cryosectioning, a destructive approach to 3D human anatomical imaging resulting in whole-body images with a field of view approaching 2 meters and a minimum resolvable feature size of 300 microns. IA-SEM is a type of block-face imaging microscopy, a destructive approach to microscopic 3D imaging of cells. The field of view of IA-SEM data is on the order of 10 microns (whole cell) with a minimum resolvable feature size of 15 nanometers (single-slice thickness). Despite the difference in subject and scale, the analysis and modeling methods were remarkably similar. They are derived from image processing, computer vision, and computer graphics techniques. Moreover, together we are employing medical illustration, visualization, and rapid prototyping to inform and inspire biomedical science. By combining graphics and biology, we are imaging across nine orders of magnitude of space to better promote public health through research.

Solids Modeling, Visualization, Data Structures, Programmable, Scientific Research, and Visualization (Computers) -- Research

In data visualization, discrete values computed across an n-dimensional domain are mapped onto pixel colors. Good visualization solutions allow the user to control the process parameters in real time and enhance the extracted features. Because data samples generally reflect a continuous function, they lend themselves to algorithmic interpolation between distributed sampling locations. An intelligent, model-based approach to visualization is put forth. This approach extracts key data characteristics and generates Zultiresolution graphics models that can be interactively rendered on off-the-shelf hardware. Their are four parts to the model-based approach: intelligent segmentation, or qualitative interpretation and queries; topology; fitting; and rendering. Implementation should be done in a rapid-prototyping environment.

Technology application and Graphics software -- Evaluation

The sense of touch as a communication medium in addition to graphical display is examined .The design of the large haptic device used in the maintainability studies and the interface description as well as the experiences gathered from industry on using haptic interfaces for virtual prototyping applications is presented.

Virtual reality -- Conferences, meetings and seminars

The 1998 Virtual Reality Annual International Symposium was held on March 14-18 in Atlanta, GA. Topics discussed included tutorials focusing on virtual humans, application of virtual reality to engineering design, analysis and 3D manufacturing, perception and actions in virtual environment, virtual prototyping and medical virtual reality. Paper sessions featured human factors, force feedback, tactile feedback, interaction, algorithms, education and training and distributed virtual worlds.