Improving Filtering for Computer Graphics

I present my work on filtering applied to several common problems in computer graphics. This includes my work on texture filtering, rasterization, surface reconstruction, and contouring indicator functions. I have rewritten and reorganized my previous papers on the subject into a coherent exposition.

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BibTeX

@phdthesis{Manson:2014:DIS,
  author  = {Josiah Manson},
  title   = {Improving Filtering for Computer Graphics},
  school  = {Texas {A\&M} University},
  year    = {2014},
}

Abstract

When drawing images onto a computer screen, the information in the scene is typically more detailed than can be displayed. Most objects, however, will not be close to the camera, so details have to be filtered out, or anti-aliased, when the objects are drawn on the screen. I describe new methods for filtering images and shapes with high fidelity while using computational resources as efficiently as possible. Vector graphics are everywhere, from drawing 3D polygons to 2D text and maps for navigation software. Because of its numerous applications, having a fast, high-quality rasterizer is important. I developed a method for analytically rasterizing shapes using wavelets. This approach allows me to produce accurate 2D rasterizations of images and 3D voxelizations of objects, which is the first step in 3D printing. I later improved my method to handle more filters. The resulting algorithm creates higher-quality images than commercial software such as Adobe Acrobat and is several times faster than the most highly optimized commercial products. The quality of texture filtering also has a dramatic impact on the quality of a rendered image. Textures are images that are applied to 3D surfaces, which typically cannot be mapped to the 2D space of an image without introducing distortions. For situations in which it is impossible to change the rendering pipeline, I developed a method for precomputing image filters over 3D surfaces. If I can also change the pipeline, I show that it is possible to improve the quality of texture sampling significantly in real-time rendering while using the same memory bandwidth as used in traditional methods.

Supplemental

presentation2014.ppt

A somewhat modified version of the presentation I gave for my defense.

License

The images, executables, and code supplied are from the web page http://josiahmanson.com. These materials are free to use for non-commercial purposes. Any works that use materials from this web page should acknowledge Josiah Manson and the paper Improving Filtering for Computer Graphics. For commercial use, please contact Josiah Manson (josiahmanson@gmail.com).