System and method for mapping textures onto surfaces of computer-generated objects
US6236405A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 27, 1997 |
| Grant date | May 22, 2001 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 27, 2017 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06T15/04
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A first texture mapping unit generates texture coordinates and associated Red, Blue, Green (RGB) values in response to coordinates received from a rasterizer. The first texture mapping unit makes use of compressed texture mipmaps to reduce memory storage and bandwidth requirements. The compressed texture maps may be generated by a compression system employing principles of Block Truncation Coding (BTC) and Color Cell Compression (CCC). A second texture mapping unit generates texture coordinates and associated RGB values in response to coordinates received from a rasterizer. The second texture mapping unit includes a memory organization allowing two mipmap levels to be retrieved in a single access, and 8-port Color Lookup Table (CLUT), a trilinear interpolator and a video port. A footprint assembly system maps textures onto surfaces by approximating the projection of a pixel onto a texture by a number of square mipmapped texels. The second texture mapping unit also performs environment mapping, reflectance mapping and detail maps.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.