Direction-dependent texture maps in a graphics system
US6297834A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Jun 10, 1999 |
| Grant date | Oct 2, 2001 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jun 10, 2019 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06T15/04
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A graphics system that renders surface features of 3D object in a manner that is direction dependent but without the time consuming and expensive calculations involved in the evaluation of lighting equations on a per pixel basis. The graphics system employs direction-dependent texture maps which hold parameters that define surface structures in a manner in which the appearance of a surface structure varies in response to a direction vector. The direction vector may be light source direction or view direction. The parameters are those of a predetermined polynomial equation the evaluation of which does not involve vector calculations.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.