WPI Computer Science Department

Computer Science Department
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CS 563 Spring Semester, 2005
Advanced Topics in Computer Graphics


Course Overview

The goal of this course is to expose students to a wide range of state-of-the-art research, techniques, and systems in the field of computer graphics. The format of the course will be weekly seminars and presentations. Each student will make 2-3 presentations over the course of the semester. This semester's class will focus on Real-Time Rendering Techniques. Applications such as video games, simulators, and virtual reality have recently become capable of near cinematic-quality visuals at real-time rates. Real-Time Rendering is a hot new area which is driving such applications. This course will examine advances in graphics hardware and real-time rendering algorithms for producing high-quality interactive graphics. Examples of topics to be covered include level of detail, mesh simplification, terrain rendering, vertex and pixel shaders, shading languages, image-based rendering, occlusion culling, and physical simulation. The final project will entail implementing one or more of the algorithms discussed in the class and rendering a 3D image using at least one of the techniques learned in the class.

Note: : Although many of the topics covered in this class will touch on some of the techniques used in video games, this is not a course about building video games: it is about understanding selected techniques used in building a 3D graphics engine such as sits under the hood of modern games (as well as other 3D graphics applications). The course will be highly technical and a lot of work. At least one previous graphics class is a must and knowledge of openGL while not a MUST, would be immensely helpful. Many vital aspects of game design: character AI, the production process, artist tools, the network layer (for multiplayer or online games), interface design, multiplatform support, etc will not be discussed. In other words, don't take the class just because you like playing video games.

General Information

Lectures: FL 320, Thursdays, 6pm - 8.50pm

Instructor: Prof. Emmanuel Agu, FL-139, 508-831-5568, emmanuel@cs.wpi.edu
Office Hours: Monday, Tuesday: 1:00PM - 2:00PM, Thursday, Friday 2:00PM - 3:00PM; Others by appointment

Text: Tomas Akenine-Moller and Eric Haines, "Real-Time Rendering", Second Edition, A K Peters Ltd, 2002

Supplemental Texts:

While the bulk of the readings from the class will be taken from the text, selected papers will be also be assigned from the computer graphics literature to augment . Students may also be required to perform a literature search to find other relevant papers.

Facilities: Presentations may be done using in Microsoft Powerpoint or any other presentation software. The following powerpoint template should be used for making your slides. Powerpoint Template This is done to ensure that all presentations have the same look and feel.

Critique Guidelines: All critiques handed in for this class should address the questions posed in the Critique Guidelines Outline

Class Websites: The class website is at http://www.cs.wpi.edu/~emmanuel/courses/cs563/spring_2004_preview.html. A myWPI class website has also been set up. The discussion board should be used for asking questions to avoid excessive emails and so that everyone can benefit from answers given. Emails should be used for specific questions which are unique to you.

Grade Policy: Each student will be required to do 2 presentations (30%), 4 critiques for 4 weeks (20%) and 3 projects (44%) and participate in class (6%). I will give the specifications for 2 of the projects. You will decide on final project yourself. There will be no exams.

Projects

Topics

Schedule (Still tentative!!)


Week 1: Introduction, class overview and review of the graphics pipeline

Class Overview and Introduction (Agu)
Chapter 2 of RT Rendering

Week 2: Case studies of Real Time Graphics: Games, augmented reality, remote walkthrough

Designing a PC Game Engine
Lars Bishop, Dave Eberly, Turner Whitted, Mark Finch, and Michael Shantz,
IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications, January, 1998

Recent Advances in Augmented Reality
Azuma R, Baillot Y, Behringer R, Feiner S, Julier S, MacIntyre B
IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications, November/December 2001


Week 3: Survey of Real Time Rendering Techniques

A Survey and Classification of Real Time Rendering Methods
Matthias Zwicker, Markus Gross, Hanspeter Pfister,
MERL, TR2000-09, April 2000.

Week 4: Texturing

Chapter 5 of RT Rendering

Week 5: BRDF Theory and Factorization

Sections 6.3 and 6.4 of RT Rendering

Spherical Harmonic Lighting: The Gritty Details
Robin Green
R&D Programmer, Sony Computer Entertainment America.
(Paper is based on a talk at the Game Developer's conference)

Week 6: Pixel and Vertex Shading

Sections 6.5 and 6.6 of RT Rendering

Sections 1.1-1.2 and Ch. 4 of Real-Time Shading by Marc Olano et al

Week 7: Shader Programming

Sections Ch. 9 of Real-Time Shading by Marc Olano et al
Sections 6.7 of RT Rendering
Cg programming book excerpts

Week 8: Image-based Rendering

Chapter 8 of RT Rendering

Billboard Clouds for Extreme Model Simplification
Xavier Décoret Frédo Durand François Sillion Julie Dorsey
in Proc. ACM SIGGRAPH 2003 conference

Deadline to submit final project proposal

Week 9: Culling and Acceleration Techniques

Chapter 9 of RT Rendering

Week 10: Pipeline optimization and Graphics Hardware

Chapter 10 of RT Rendering

Chapter 15 of RT Rendering

Week 11: Polygonal Techniques and Geometric Simplification

Chapter 11 of RT Rendering

A Developer’s Survey of Polygonal Simplification Algorithms
David Luebke,
IEEE Computer Graphics &Applications (May 2001).


Week 12: Point-based Rendering

The Use of Points as a Display Primitive
Marc Levoy and Turner Whitted
Technical Report 85-022, Computer Science Department,
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, January, 1985.


QSplat: a multiresolution point rendering system for large meshes
Szymon Rusinkiewicz and Marc Levoy,
SIGGRAPH 2000.

Week 13: Mobile Graphics

Adaptive Graphics
Ioana Boier-Martin.
In IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications, vol. 2, no. 1, Jan-Feb 2003, pages 6-10

Flexible Point-Based Rendering on Mobile Devices
Florent Duguet George Drettakis
INRIA tech report RR-4833, also in IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications number 4 volume 24 July-August 2004

Miscellaneous Papers

Progressive Meshes
H Hoppe
in Proc. ACM SIGGRAPH 1996 conference

Geometry Compression
Deering
in Proc. ACM SIGGRAPH 1995 conference

Week 14: Project Presentations

Summary of Presenters

Week Topic Presenter Slides
Week 1 Intro talk Emmanuel Agu (slides)
Week 2 Designing a PC Game Linna Ma (slides)
Week 2 Recent Advances in Augmented Reality Kutty Banerjee (slides)
Week 3 A Survey and Classification of RT Rendering Methods (pt 1) Kutty Banerjee (slides)
Week 3 A Survey and Classification of RT Rendering Methods (pt 2) Songxiang Gu (slides)
Week 4 Texturing Ch 5 of RT Rendering (pt 1) Peter Lohrmann (slides)
Week 4 Texturing Ch 5 of RT Rendering (pt 2) Cliff Lindsay (slides)
Week 5 BRDF thoery and factorization Sections 6.3, 6.4 of RT Rendering Songxiang Gu (slides)
Week 5 Spherical Harmonic Lighting Mark Vessella (slides)
Week 6 Pixel and Vertex Shading Sections 6.5, 6.6 of RT Rendering Matt Maziarz (slides)
Week 6 Pixel and Vertex Shading Sections 1.1 - 1.2 or RT Rendering, and Ch 4 of RT Shading by Olano et al Fan Wu (slides)
Week 7 Shader Programming Ch 9 of Olano Dan Adams (slides)
Week 7 Shader Programming Sections 6.7 of RT Rendering, Cg tutorial excerpts Mike Schmidt (slides)
Week 8 Image-based Rendering Ch 8 of RT Rendering Suman Nadella (slides)
Week 8 Billboard Clouds Jared Krechko (slides)
Week 9 Culling and Acceleration Techniques Ch 9 of RT Rendering (pt 1) Mark Vessella (slides)
Week 9 Culling and Acceleration Techniques Ch 9 of RT Rendering (pt 2) Cliff Lindsay (slides)
Week 10 Pipeline optimization and graphics hardware Ch 10 of RT Rendering MIchael Schmidt (slides)
Week 10 Pipeline optimization and graphics hardware Ch 15 of RT Rendering Dan Adams (slides)
Week 11 Polygonal Techniques and Geometric Simplification Ch 11 of RT Rendering Linna Ma (slides)
Week 11 A Developer's Guide of Polygon Simplification Fan Wu (slides)
Week 12 Point-based rendering, The use of points as a display primitive Jared Krechko (slides)
Week 12 QSplat: A multiresolution point rendering system for large meshes Matt Maziarz (slides)
Week 13 Adaptive Graphics Peter Lohrmann (slides)
Week 13 Flexible Point-based rendering on mobile devices Suman Nadella (slides)

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