Level of Detail for 3D Graphics

Level of Detail for 3D Graphics

by David Luebke, Martin Reddy, Jonathan D. Cohen, Amitabh Varshney, Benjamin Watson, Robert Huebner
Released July 2002
Publisher(s): Morgan Kaufmann
ISBN: 9780080510118

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Book description


Level of detail (LOD) techniques are increasingly used by professional real-time developers to strike the balance between breathtaking virtual worlds and smooth, flowing animation. Level of Detail for 3D Graphics brings together, for the first time, the mechanisms, principles, practices, and theory needed by every graphics developer seeking to apply LOD methods.


Continuing advances in level of detail management have brought this powerful technology to the forefront of 3D graphics optimization research. This book, written by the very researchers and developers who have built LOD technology, is both a state-of-the-art chronicle of LOD advances and a practical sourcebook, which will enable graphics developers from all disciplines to apply these formidable techniques to their own work.

* Is a complete, practical resource for programmers wishing to incorporate LOD technology into their own systems.
* Is an important reference for professionals in game development, computer animation, information visualization, real-time graphics and simulation, data capture and preview, CAD display, and virtual worlds.
* Is accessible to anyone familiar with the essentials of computer science and interactive computer graphics.
* Covers the full range of LOD methods from mesh simplification to error metrics, as well as advanced issues of human perception, temporal detail, and visual fidelity measurement.
* Includes an accompanying Web site rich in supplementary material including source code, tools, 3D models, public domain software, documentation, LOD updates, and more. Visit http://LODBook.com.

Table of contents

  1. Cover image
  2. Title page
  3. Table of Contents
  4. Endorsement
  5. Copyright
  6. Dedication
  7. About the Authors
  8. Preface
  9. Chapter 1: Introduction
    1. 1.1 Literate Programming
    2. 1.2 Photorealistic Rendering and the Ray-Tracing Algorithm
    3. 1.3 pbrt: System Overview
    4. 1.4 How to Proceed Through This Book
    5. 1.5 Using and Understanding the Code
    6. Further Reading
    7. Exercise
  10. Chapter 2: Geometry and Transformations
    1. 2.1 Coordinate Systems
    2. 2.2 Vectors
    3. 2.3 Points
    4. 2.4 Normals
    5. 2.5 Rays
    6. 2.6 Three-Dimensional Bounding Boxes
    7. 2.7 Transformations
    8. 2.8 Applying Transformations
    9. 2.10 Differential Geometry
    10. Further Reading
    11. Exercises
  11. Chapter 3: Shapes
    1. 3.1 Basic Shape Interface
    2. 3.2 Spheres
    3. 3.3 Cylinders
    4. 3.4 Disks
    5. 3.5 Other Quadrics
    6. 3.6 Triangles and Meshes
    7. *3.7 Subdivision Surfaces
    8. Further Reading
    9. Exercises
  12. Chapter 4: Primitives and Intersection Acceleration
    1. 4.1 Primitive Interface and Geometric Primitives
    2. 4.2 Aggregates
    3. 4.3 Grid Accelerator
    4. 4.4 Bounding Volume Hierarchies
    5. 4.5 Kd-Tree Accelerator
    6. 4.6 Debugging Aggregates
    7. Further Reading
    8. Exercises
  13. Chapter 5: Color and Radiometry
    1. 5.1 Spectral Representation
    2. 5.2 The Sampledspectrum Class
    3. 5.3 RGBSpectrum Implementation
    4. 5.4 Basic Radiometry
    5. 5.5 Working with Radiometric Integrals
    6. 5.6 Surface Reflection
    7. Further Reading
    8. Exercises
  14. Chapter 6: Camera Models
    1. 6.1 Camera Model
    2. 6.2 Projective Camera Models
    3. 6.3 Environment Camera
    4. Further Reading
    5. Exercises
  15. Chapter 7: Sampling and Reconstruction
    1. 7.1 Sampling Theory
    2. 7.2 Image Sampling Interface
    3. 7.3 Stratified Sampling
    4. *7.4 Low-Discrepancy Sampling
    5. *7.5 Best-Candidate Sampling Patterns
    6. 7.6 Adaptive Sampling
    7. 7.7 Image Reconstruction
    8. 7.8 Film and the Imaging Pipeline
    9. Further Reading
    10. Exercise
  16. Chapter 8: Reflection Models
    1. 8.1 Basic Interface
    2. 8.2 Specular Reflection and Transmission
    3. 8.3 Lambertian Reflection
    4. 8.4 Microfacet Models
    5. 8.5 Fresnel Incidence Effects
    6. 8.6 Measured BRDFs
    7. Further Reading
    8. Exercise
  17. Chapter 9: Materials
    1. 9.1 BSDFs
    2. 9.2 Material Interface and Implementations
    3. 9.3 Bump Mapping
    4. Further Reading
    5. Exercise
  18. Chapter 10: Texture
    1. 10.1 Sampling and Antialiasing
    2. 10.2 Texture Coordinate Generation
    3. 10.3 Texture Interface and Basic Textures
    4. 10.4 Image Texture
    5. 10.5 Solid and Procedural Texturing
    6. 10.6 Noise
    7. Further Reading
    8. Exercise
  19. Chapter 11: Volume Scattering
    1. 11.1 Volume Scattering Processes
    2. 11.2 Phase Functions
    3. 11.3 Volume Interface and Homogeneous Media
    4. 11.4 Varying-Density Volumes
    5. 11.5 Volume Aggregates
    6. 11.6 The Bssrdf
    7. Further Reading
    8. Exercises
  20. Chapter 12: Light Sources
    1. 12.1 Light Interface
    2. 12.2 Point Lights
    3. 12.3 Distant Lights
    4. 12.4 Area Lights
    5. 12.5 Infinite Area Lights
    6. Further Reading
    7. Exercises
  21. Chapter 13: Monte Carlo Integration I: Basic Concepts
    1. 13.1 Background and Probability Review
    2. 13.2 The Monte Carlo Estimator
    3. 13.3 Basic Sampling of Random Variables
    4. *13.4 Metropolis Sampling
    5. 13.5 Transforming Between Distributions
    6. 13.6 2D Sampling with Multidimensional Transformations
    7. Further Reading
    8. Exercises
  22. Chapter 14: Monte Carlo Integration II: Improving Efficiency
    1. 14.1 Russian Roulette and Splitting
    2. 14.2 Careful Sample Placement
    3. 14.3 Bias
    4. 14.4 Importance Sampling
    5. 14.5 Sampling Reflection Functions
    6. 14.6 Sampling Light Sources
    7. 14.7 Volume Scattering
    8. Further Reading
    9. Exercises
  23. Chapter 15: Light Transport I: Surface Reflection
    1. 15.1 Direct Lighting
    2. 15.2 The Light Transport Equation
    3. 15.3 Path Tracing
    4. 15.4 Instant Global Illumination
    5. 15.5 Irradiance Caching
    6. 15.6 Particle Tracing and Photon Mapping
    7. *15.7 Metropolis Light Transport
    8. Further Reading
    9. Exercises
  24. Chapter 16: Light Transport II: Volume Rendering
    1. 16.1 The Equation of Transfer
    2. 16.2 Volume Integrator Interface
    3. 16.3 Emission-Only Integrator
    4. 16.4 Single Scattering Integrator
    5. 16.5 Subsurface Scattering
    6. Further Reading
    7. Exercises
  25. Chapter 17: Light Transport III: Precomputed Light Transport
    1. 17.1 Basis Functions: Theory
    2. 17.2 Spherical Harmonics
    3. 17.3 Radiance Probes
    4. 17.4 Precomputed Diffuse Transfer
    5. 17.5 Precomputed Glossy Transfer
    6. Further Reading
    7. Exercises
  26. Chapter 18: Retrospective and the Future
    1. 18.1 Design Retrospective
    2. 18.2 Throughput Processors
    3. 18.3 Conclusion
  27. Utilities
    1. A.1 Main Include File
    2. A.2 Image File Input and Output
    3. A.3 Communicating with the User
    4. A.4 Probes and Statistics
    5. A.5 Memory Management
    6. A.6 Mathematical Routines
    7. A.7 Octrees
    8. A.8 Kd-Trees
    9. A.9 Parallelism
    10. Further Reading
    11. Exercises
  28. Scene Description Interface
    1. B.1 Parameter Sets
    2. B.2 Initialization and Rendering Options
    3. B.3 Scene Definition
    4. B.4 Adding new Object Implementations
    5. Further Reading
    6. Exercises
  29. Index of Fragments
  30. Index of Classes and their Members
  31. Index of Miscellaneous Identifiers
  32. References
  33. Index
  34. Colophon

Product information

  • Title: Level of Detail for 3D Graphics
  • Author(s): David Luebke, Martin Reddy, Jonathan D. Cohen, Amitabh Varshney, Benjamin Watson, Robert Huebner
  • Release date: July 2002
  • Publisher(s): Morgan Kaufmann
  • ISBN: 9780080510118