System and method for generating 3D color images with simulated light sources
US5896135A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Jul 30, 1997 |
| Grant date | Apr 20, 1999 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jul 30, 2017 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06T15/506
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A system and method for generating three-dimensional (3D) color images with a simulated light sources. The operation of producing 3D images involves a complicated scheme of time consuming instructions issued by a controller to obtain 3D images. The present invention performs this result faster and more efficiently than conventional technology. The production of 3D color images according to the present invention is performed by a system. A controller manages the flow of data for the system. Control of the system generally occurs as follows: Signal characteristics representing light direction, view direction and a normal unit vector enter an input queue. The data is then written into a register file at assigned locations. After being written into the register file, light signals are pipelined into a floating point multiplier and accumulator (FMAC) for computation. Once the FMAC performs the requested computation it is either written back into the register file at a designated location in the register file or reused immediately in a next cycle.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.