The reading from Anne Spalter's book was quite enlighting. Many of the tools she described were familiar to me, but the understanding of how they actually work was not. Knowing such things as how different types of mapping respond to light or that ray tracing is so time consuming because of the amazing complexity of the operation will be helpful in the future. I also was unaware of the differnt types of lighting models and their respective strengths and weaknesses. Knowing just how many options there are available makes it difficult to know which direction to choose when furthering my education in 3D technology. However, it is comforting to know that every time I learn a program or something new about a program I already use, it will make it easier to become competent on others. After all, the technology is changing so quicklly that being adaptive is a requirement of working with 3D graphics.
In spite of 3D rendering being a new part of life for me, it is rather easy to take for granted the programs we designers use to transfer the images from our brains to our computers. The readings in this course are connecting names and personalities to the work that has been done to provide the amazing tools at our disposal. Donald Greenberg has been directing the Program of Computer Graphics at Cornell University since 1974. Because the PCG is independent of any one academic department, its students and faculty enjoy an unusual opportunity for multidisciplinary research. The very diverse group includes individuals from the fields of architecture, computer science, engineering, art, perception psychology and theater arts. This mix results in a rich research environment that values human perception and the aesthetics of light as much as physics and precision computation (Novitski, 2000).The focus of the work is primarily in three areas: improving the user interfaces for architectural applications to make them more suitable for designers, simulating the behavior of light in space and understanding the human visual perception system to refine the rendering algorithms and developing methods for improving image capture and the quality of image-based rendering.
Considering that Autodesk provides some of their funding, it seems likely that PCG was responsible for a development in the first category which I learned about in our last class, the improved manipulation of objects in 3D space with 3DS Max. Relatively simple improvements of that nature could save designers a lot of time. But Greenberg and his cohorts are working on something that could have a more profound effect on computer design, a device that is a transparent digitizing surface which uses a pen and a high res rear-projection display. He feels that the pen is more suited for the way designers work than the current mouse and monitor system. But unlike the traditional pen and paper approach, it utilizes the advantages of digital systems, including the ability to allow multiple designers to work together online (Novitski, 2000).
The work PCG is doing in the next category involves the physics of light at the wavelength level. No other architectural research lab in the world is studying light at this level of precision. Complex algorithms translate the effects of light in the real world to the one we see on our computer screens. In order to keep the programs as fast as possible, perceptual psychologists are used to determine what the human eye actually perceives, so that unnecessary information does not interfere with efficiency. They are combining the advantages of ray-tracing and radiosity in a simulation method which works fast enough for real-time animation.
Another goal being pursued is the improvement of image capture and rendering. There are many problems with existing programs, such as distortions or blank spots. The work involves finding the sources of errors in these existing programs and adjusting algorithms accordingly. Part of the process is comparing image-based renderings of scenes with physically accurate images.
In addition to the improvements in the actual technology, Cornell is improving the way that students learn. Incorporating the software programs into the studios increases the students' motivation to master the program. Tools which provided better visualization of their designs helped the students to proceed quicker in the design process. Learning the program while designing also taught them to model and render within the context of design thinking. Cornell students are getting an education using technologies they can expect to work with a few years from now rather than on today's technologies, many of which will be obsolete by then. Greenberg says, "We have always emphasized the teaching of concepts so that the students can ride the technological wave and never be outdated" (Novitski, 2000).
"Rendering 3D worlds - 3D Geometric Graphics II" by Anne Spalter, Addison Wesley Longman Inc. 1999, pp 257-293.
"Once and Future Graphics Pioneer", B.J. Novitski
http://www.architectureweek.com/2000/0913/tools_1-1.html
"Once and Future Graphics Pioneer Part II", B.J. Novitski
http://www.architectureweek.com/2000/0920/tools_1-1.html
