System for color and opacity transfer function specification in volume rendering
US5903274A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Feb 27, 1997 |
| Grant date | May 11, 1999 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Feb 27, 2017 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06T15/08
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A system generates and arranges images depicting volume data using opacity nd color transfer functions for review and selection by a user. In volume rendering, an opacity and/or color transfer function is applied to three-dimensional scalar field data. The transfer functions have different characteristics represented as input parameters, such as control points of the function. The input parameters are then processed to determine images of the volumes and corresponding output vectors. The output vectors can be pixels in the images, or other characteristics of interest. The input vectors are selected to provide a dispersed set of output vectors. A large number of random input vectors can be generated and then culled to leave a dispersed set of output vectors. Alternatively, a set of randomly generated input vectors of a predetermined size are randomly perturbed, to further disperse the output vectors. The output vectors are displayed so that positions represent distances between the output vectors. The user can then select specific output vectors so that the corresponding animation sequence is displayed.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.