Showing papers on "Graphics published in 1970"

A real time visible surface algorithm

Abstract: : With the increasing use of computer graphics, a need is growing for a processor capable of displaying solid objects. Environmental simulation and architectural modeling are only two areas that would benefit from such a display processor. The dissertation describes an algorithm designed for such a processor, and a FORTRAN 5 program for simulating the hardware processor. The hardware processor would be capable of generating pictures of fairly complicated objects at thirty frames per second. Statistics describing its simulated performance have been extracted and are reported within the dissertation.

An algorithm for producing half-tone computer graphics presentations with shadows and movable light sources

Abstract: In the years since the introduction of SKETCHPAD an increasing number of graphics systems for line drawing have been developed. Software packages are now available to do such things as picture definition, rotation and translation of picture data, and production of animated movies and microfilm. Automatic windowing, three-dimensional figures, depth cueing by intensity, and even stereo line drawing are now feasible and in some cases, available in hardware.

The use of interactive graphics to solve numerical problems

Abstract: With the advent of on-line (time-sharing) computer systems and graphic terminals, we have available a new dimension in numerical problem solving capabilities. Rather than simply use the new power to achieve fast turnaround, we can develop interactive routines which are easy to use and also take advantage of the insight and visual capabilities of the human problem solver. Several on-line systems for general purpose mathematical problem solving have already been implemented as well as some special purpose systems for solving problems in a particular area such as ordinary differential equations. The advantage of restricting the problem area is that the interface with a user can be greatly simplified. In this paper we discuss some of the advantages accrued by such systems and design considerations for interactive routines. Furthermore, an implmentation of an on-line least squares data-fitting program, PEG, is presented with results obtained from empirical data. In conclusion, areas for future work in this field are discussed.

An Interactive Graph Theory System

Abstract: The medium of computer graphics provides a capability for dealing with pictures in man-machine communication. Graph theory is used to model relationships which are represented by pictures and is therefore an appropriate discipline for the application of an interactive computer graphics system. Previous efforts to solve graph theoretic problems by computer have usually involved specialized programs written in a symbolic assembly language or algebraic compiler language.

A Dynamic Model for Computer-Aided Choreography

Abstract: : The application of the digital computer in the field of dance choreography is a relatively unexplored area. The use of the computer in other arts is more widely known. The report describes an interactive, FORTRAN 5 UNIVAC 1108 computer which relates the angular movements of the joints of the display model to hand-drawn curves. These curves are drawn with a stylus on a graphics tablet. The pen and tablet are part of an interactive system that includes a cathode ray tube display, a digital computer, and the user himself. This program demonstrates that this method of model-manipulation is feasible.

Generating computer animated movies from a graphic console

Abstract: Graphical output via the computer has been available for many years now, but generally only one device at a time has been available to produce the display, and only one mode of output or input has been considered. This paper describes the successful integration of several components to form a graphics system which produces plots, animated crt displays, and motion pictures. Two similar driving programs are employed to create either planar or 3 dimensional dynamic picture sequences from picture language commands and/or other pictorial input.

A Programmer's Guide to PDP-10 EULER

Abstract: : The manual describes the EULER language as implemented on the DEC PDP-10 computer. EULER is a block-structured language, similar to Algol-60 but simplified by omitting type declarations and by altering the way procedures are defined and called. PDP-10 EULER includes features for list and array manipulation, and also for a number of forms of input - output, including graphics.

DRAWL 70: A Computer Graphics Language.

Abstract: : The DRAWL language provides a simple means of defining a graphical composition and specifying operations on it. A catalog of parts is kept; any defined item may be re-used any number of times. Changes in viewing angle, scale, absolute location, and projection are easily affected in three dimensions via homogeneous coordinate projective geometry. Graphical output is available on cathode-ray tube-displays, digital-incremental plotters, and on-line computer line-printers and remote printing terminals. (Author)

ARCAID: The ARChitect's Computer Graphics AID

Abstract: : ARCAID is an interactive computer graphics system relying on the Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) for feedback and a typing keyboard, stylus and tablet, tract ball, and zoom pedal for input. The picture at the CRT is refreshed by a small computer (PDP-8) and manipulations of alphanumerics and graphic elements are handled by a large computer (UNIVAC 1108). ARCAID envisions the design of a building from first briefing and schematics through construction without the use of paper.

Efficient Transmission of Graphics Using Polyomino Filtering at the Receiver

Abstract: A simple new coding scheme has been developed which increases the transmission efficiency for graphics by a factor of 2, or what amounts to the same, can transmit two documents over the initial channel used to transmit a single picture, while preserving the subjective picture quality. Based on the exploration of polyominoes, the initial message is submitted to a well-defined information extraction process at the transmitter and a corresponding reconstruction manipulation for message display at the receiver.

Expanded capabilities of CSMP graphics on the IBM 1130 digital computer

Abstract: The 1130 Continuous System Modeling Program (1130 CSMP) with interactive computer graphics on the IBM 1130 digital computer has been in use at The Boeing Company, Huntsville, Alabama, since the middle of March, 1969. CSMP was introduced through a small research study to define the graphics requirements for Boeing Huntsville. By June 1, 1969, approximately 250 hours of CSMP utiliza tion had been logged on the 1130. As a result of this initial usage by various engineering disciplines, many new requirements have been identified for CSMP. The purpose of this paper is to present those modifications which have already been made to CSMP as a result of these require ments. Also noted in this paper are additional requirements which users feel should be met by further modifications of CSMP.

A survey of data structures for interactive graphics

Abstract: : The paper compares methods of organizing data within a computer to permit many interactive computer graphic applications. A data structure is a collection of blocks of machine words (beads) within a subset of the computer's memory. A program for processing such a structure must be able to create and destroy beads and to reference data items (bit strings). The first ability is provided by LEAP'S associative-memory storage allocation system. The referencing ability furnished by several procedural languages enables the programmer to design structures. However, several predesigned ring structures are useful in interactive graphics-e.g., Sketchpad or CORAL.

Study of computer graphics and signal classification applications.

Abstract: : The purpose of the study was to investigate and recommend techniques that use an interactive computer graphics system to design signal classification procedures for signal classification problems. Many of these signal classification problems have no solutions yet, and a model does not exist from which a theoretical solution can be derived. These signal classification problems are characterized by the fact that the classification information present in the signals must be extracted from a limited number of design signals and some limited knowldege concerning the environment from which the signals were obtained. Given very little a priori information concerning these signal classification problems, it is necessary to directly employ the inventive capability of the human pattern recognizer as well as any applicable mathematical or statistical techniques. In this report, various aspects of signal analysis and classification are investigated and techniques are recommended for use in a computer graphics facility to design signal classification systems. (Author)

Extensions to the pl/i language for interactive computer graphics

Abstract: : The report presents a proposed combination of the IBM Conversational Programming System (CPS) and the Rand Programmer-Oriented Graphics Operation (POGO). CPS is entirely typewriter oriented and uses a subset of PL/I with the ON-conditions and complete file I/O that are necessary in building an interactive graphical language. The facilities of POGO, which allow the user to draw on a screen the objects he wishes displayed, to label and name objects, and to define where to display appropriate items, are provided by these extensions to the language: (1) one new statement, DISPLAY, signalling the creation of a named display page; (2) additional options in the PUT and GET statements; and (3) an additional ON-condition, PUSH, that relates light-pen actions to asynchronous program responses.

Interactive display/graphics systems for remote sensor data analysis

Abstract: A color-television display system and interactive graphics equipment on-line to an IBM 360/44 computer are used to develop a variety of interactive displays which aid in analyzing remote sensor data. These interactive displays are used to: (1) analyze data from a multispectral scanner; (2) develop automatic pattern recognition systems based on multispectral scanner measurements; and (3) analyze data from non-imaging sensors such as the infrared radiometer and microwave scatterometer.

Computer graphics: a concept sale

Abstract: It was the consensus of the "Computer Graphics in the 70's" discussion at the recent ACM convention that the promise of computer graphics which glowed so promisingly in the mid-sixties had fallen far short of expectations° Not only had the majority of users of computers not become totally dependent on graphic display, the strongest advocates of nonalphanumeric visible output have made only a minor impression on the world of computers° The concept of graphics has not been sold to the computer community° The term "computer graphics" itself is shrouded in mystery to the uninitiated, full of promise to the graphics peripheral vendor, ignored by business data processors, and considered too expensive by everyone° Only in those bastions of computer application; the aerospace and automotive industries, has the use of computer graphics become an indispensable part of normal business operations° Mention "computer graphics" to a printer and he thinks of photocomposition, justification, and variety of fonts and sizes. To the COBOL oriented business, the term connotes printer plots° The plotter user, watching his machine click and buzz its way through an amazingly complex four-color plot dreams of artistic creations with lacy mathematical convolutions° And to the avant-garde it can mean nothing less than animated realtime perspective pictures with hidden line solution and hardware matrix transformation° From printer plots to moving pictures of an unreal world, the notion of what "graphics" is (are?) eludes commonality° It is nearly as ill-defined as the numerator of the commonly used but seldom quantified expression "throughput per unit cost o" Though all of this may seem flip or disrespectful toward a field the author holds in high regard, it is hoped that it will provide some motivation for clarifying the bewildering proliferation of "graphics o"

Efficient Inspection Of Data From PollutionNetworks

Abstract: A package of tools for the rapid survey of data from a pollution monitoring network has been developed It has been designed to help in the recognition of regularities as well as peculiarities in a data set. Critical features are interactive user control, real-time graphic presentation in alternative formats, and simple modification of code to permit new options. The graphics used include movies of the spatial development, time-series, and scatter diagrams modulo the diurnal or weekly cycles.