Lesson 01 - Computer Graphics

Computer Graphics takes a model of a world and generate an image(orimages) and

manipulate. Graphics can also be used for visualizing a given data set (eg. Scientific
Visualization).
Computer Graphics Applications
Entertainment
Information Systems
Education
Computer Aided Design
Virtual Reality
Geography Information System ( G I S)
Film / Video Creation
Scientific Visualization

Resolution
Spatial Resolution (dpi)
Measure of the smallest object that can be resolved by a sensor.
Scanners 1200 dpi
Printers 300 -1200 dpi
CRT monitors 70-80 dpi
LCD displays 1200 1600 dpi

Spectral Resolution
specific wave length intervals in electromagnetic spectrum that a sensor can record.

Pixel Resolution
Number of pixels
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 Lookup Tables (LUT)
for each pixel, index to the lookup table is recorded
LUT consists of the color definitions
8-bit indices -> 256 different colors

Image Processing
The interest of Image processing originates from:

Improvement of visual information for human interception.

Processing of image data for storage, communication and machine perception.

Image processing begins with images in the Image Space and performs pixel based
operations on them to produce new images that exhibit certain desired features.

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 Image and Digital Image

An Image may be defined as f(x,y)where x and y are coordinates and amplitude of f at any
point x,y is called the intensity or grey level of the image at that point.
When x,y and amplitude values of f are all finite and discrete we call it a digital image.
Pixel is the term used to denote the elements of a digital Image.

Human Vision and Machine Vision

Vision is the most advanced of human senses.
Human perception is limited to visual band of the EM spectrum.
Imaging machines cover the entire spectrum. [ Electron Microscopy / Tomography / x-ray]

Computer Graphic systems

2.Computer Graphic Software

1.Computer Graphics Hardware Graphics creation IDEs, Graphic
Devices used to create computer graphics drivers, Graphic program languages,
Graphic cards, display devices, output devices, etc.
capture devices, control devices, etc.

Raster Devices Vector Devices

Raster devices scan the whole output area in raster fashion These devices produce the graphics display by drawing lines and
(scan the whole output area row by row starting from the curves at the appropriate output positions. There is no scanning the
top ) to produce the output. whole output area as in raster devices.

Eg. Raster CRT, Laser Printer. Eg. Plotters, Vector CRTs (Random Scan CRTs), Plasma Panel
displays.
These devices are good to produce high quality graphics
with large number of colours. Easy to display filled areas These devices
have limited number of colours,
image size is small
difficult to display filled areas.

Graphics Display Devices

Raster CRTs
Vector CRTs
Liquid Crystal Displays (LCDs)
Plasma Panel Displays
Head Mounted Displays (HMDs)
Computer Graphics can use many different output devices, such as monitors, printer, plotter, etc. but
the most common display device is the Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) monitor.
Raster CRTs
Vector CRTs
Liquid Crystal Displays (LCDs)
Plasma Panel Displays
Head Mounted Displays (HMDs)

CRT Display
Horizontal and vertical deflectors allow the electron beam to be focused on any spot on the screen
The screen is coated with a special organic compound called a phosphor
color systems there are groups of three different phosphors, one to produce red shades, one for green
shades, and one for blue shades

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Operation of CRT
Electrons hit the screen phosphor molecules and cause a ground state to singlet excited state
transition.
Most of the phosphors relax back to the ground state by emitting a photon of light which is called
fluorescence.
Some of the molecules convert from an excited singlet state to an excited triplet state in a process
called inter-system crossing
These phosphors then emit light, called phosphorescence, that decays slower but still rapidly
Need to refresh the screen by redrawing the image.

Persistency and flicker rate

Phosphors are characterized by color (usually red, green, or blue) and persistence, which is the
time for the emitted light to decay to 10 % of the initial intensity.
High persistence phosphors allow for a lower refresh rate to avoid flicker, e.g., the original IBM
PC monochrome monitor had a high persistence phosphor.
This allowed it to have good resolution for text with inexpensive electronics.
Poor for animation since a "trail" is left with moving objects.
Low persistence phosphors are good for animation but require a high refresh rate to prevent
flicker.
A refresh rate of 50 -60 Hz is usually sufficient to prevent flicker, but some systems refresh at
even higher rates such as 72-76 Hz.
Random Scan and Raster scan
Computer graphics systems can be random scan or raster scan.
In a Random Scan system, also called vector, stroke-writing, or calligraphic the electron beam directly
draws the picture.

Advantages of random scan:

very high resolution, limited only by monitor
easy animation, just draw at different positions
requires little memory (just enough to hold the display program)
Disadvantages:
requires "intelligent electron beam, i.e., processor controlled
limited screen density before have flicker, can't draw a complex image
limited color capability (very expensive)
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Random Scan and Raster scan
A Raster Scan device scans the screen from top to bottom in a
regular pattern. This is common TV technology.
The electron beam is turned on/off so the image is a collection of
dots which are painted on screen one row (scan line or raster line)
at a time.
A raster is a matrix of pixels covering the screen (output display)
area and consists of raster lines

How to tell the electron beam when to turn on/off?

It stores the pattern in a special graphics memory area called a frame buffer (also called a bit map)
where each memory location corresponds to a pixel.
Display processor scan memory and then turn electron beam on/off depending if bit is 1 or 0.
It may interlaced scan
the first scan does the even lines 0,2,4,... then the second scan does the odd lines 1,3,5,... Must do at
least > 45 Hz or else get flicker.

Memory requirements for a monochrome / Colour systems

pixel is either on or off
640 X 480 resolution 307,200 bits/8 bits/byte = 38,400 bytes
There may be several bits/pixel for color or gray scale intensity
e.g., 8 bits/pixel (0 255) gives 256 colors. This is sometimes called 8 bit planes. So the memory
requirements for 1024 x768 with 8bits/pixel is 768 K bytes.

Speed requirements for memory access

Look at speed requirements for memory access:
60 Hz for 1024 x 768 X 8 = 768 Kbytes = 786,432 bytes
Read 786 X 10^3 bytes in 1600 X 10^-5 sec. or 1 byte in 2 X 10-8 sec. = 20 ns
Also, look at rough estimation of scanning rates: frequency X number of vertical lines:
Example: for an IBM VGA 60 X 480 = 30 KHz; for 1024 x 768 --> 60 X 768 = 46 Khz

Graphics Hardcopy Output Devices

PrintersDot Matrix PrintersLine PrintersInk Jet PrintersLaser Printer PlottersFlatbed PlottersDrum
Plotters

Graphics Input Devices

Mouse Scanners
Joysticks 3D Scanners
Digitizing Tablets
Light Pen
Track Ball
3D Mouse
Data Gloves
Computer Graphics Software
APIs=> OpenGL Java3D VRML PHIGS X3D
Packages=> 3DStudio Max Maya

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2D Graphics -Bitmap Image Bitmap Image -Compression
Pixel based Loss-less Compression
Group of colored dots Can reproduce original image without loss
Best for real-world image (picture) Not high compression ratio (~2.0)
Large data size Lossy Compression
Needs compression for transfer Cannot reproduce original image
Resolution Dependent Cut not-so-sensible information (Perceptual
Not suitable for resizing/zooming RGB coding)
Can specify the amount of quality loss
High compression ratio (~100)
Bitmap Image -Format Bitmap Image JPEG
Industry standard High compression for full-color image
TIFF (Tagged Image File Format)- *Based on characteristics of human eyes
Adobe/Silicon Graphics + Good for photography or artistic image
Platform Standard *The only international standard (up to now)
BMP -Windows Widely used in consumer market, WWW
PICT -Macintosh
GIF (Graphics Interchange Format)
International Standard
JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group)-ISO
10918
JPEG2000 -(ISO draft)
PNG (Portable Network Graphic)-MIT/W3C

Vector Image -Format Vector Image -WMF,EMF Questions

Industry Standard
EPS (Encapsulated Post Script)-Adobe
DXF -Autodesk3D Graphics
Platform Standard
WMF (Windows Meta File),EMF (Enhanced
Meta File) -Windows
International Standard
CGM (Computer Graphics Metafile) -ANSI/ISO
SVG (Scalable Vector Graphic)
WMF
Line-based (No curve!)
Designed for Microsoft Windows 3.1
Limited feature, but widely used in office market
EMF
Bzier curve-based
Designed for Microsoft Windows 95
Used for exchange of vector data internally
between Windows applications