Distinguished Lecture Series

My computer graphics research has involved the representation of geometry, specifically in three areas: (1) the creation of surface models from scanned data, (2) the multiresolution representation of surface geometry, and (3) the parametrization of surfaces for efficient rendering. In this talk, I'll present an overview of this research. When I begun studies in computer graphics, the main source of geometric models were the computer-aided-design (CAD) descriptions of manufactured parts. In the early 90's, 3D scanning systems became commonplace, allowing geometry to be captured for everyday objects. My PhD work addressed the reconstruction of surfaces from scanned data. Surface reconstruction has led to an abundant source of complex geometric models. In turn, model complexity posed to a number of problems. In particular, it is difficult to visualize detailed models interactively. Thus, my next area of research was the multiresolution representation of geometry. I developed progressive representations that allow efficient transition between different levels of detail, and permit detail to be locally adapted in real time as the viewer moves. Such representations are also well suited for compression and progressive transmission of geometry. In the last few years, my research emphasis has shifted to creating parametrizations over surfaces, to allow signals to be mapped onto geometry. While graphics hardware has long supported "texture mapping", recent programmable hardware offers many types of interesting effects. The key to realizing these effects is to develop automated tools to efficiently associate attribute signals with geometry.

Vibeke Sorensen will be showing and discussing her work in computer art and animation, focusing on her recent interactive and collaborative work. This includes stereoscopic animation and software, as well as interactive web based work including "MindShipMind". The latter is in collaboration with Austrian composer Karlheinz Essl and based on the writing of 30 artists and scientists participating in a 3 week seminar called "Order, Complexity, and Beauty," at the MindShip in Copenhagen, Denmark in l996. She will also discuss her "Global Visual Music" project in collaboration with University of California, San Diego Music Department Professor Miller Puckette (Mathematician and Computer Scientist) and Rand Steiger (Composer). They are developing a new multi-media programming language which allows users to combine 2 and 3-D computer graphics and animation, digital video, and computer sound and music for real-time, improvised multi-media performance. Finally, she will review her "New Display Technology for Computer Art" project in which she is working with USC Chemistry professor Dr. Mark Thompson on the development of new, light emitting displays for still and moving images.

This talk presents research spanning the fields of artificial life, computer graphics, and computer vision. We have created physics-based virtual worlds inhabited by realistic ``artificial animals''. These sophisticated artificial life models possess muscle-actuated bodies, eyes, and brains with motor, perception, and behavior centers. Artificial animals are of interest in computer graphics in part because they are self-animating creatures that dramatically advance the state of the art of graphical character animation. As zoomimetic autonomous agents situated in realistic virtual worlds, artificial animals also foster a deeper understanding of biological information processing. In particular, they enable an advantageously fresh paradigm for computer vision research. Artificial animals are able to navigate complex, highly dynamic 3D environments using active vision systems that continuously analyze retinal streams imaged through mobile, foveated eyes. Artificial animals are furthermore valuable to the study of learning and cognition in living systems. They can learn muscle-actuated locomotion and are able to acquire some astonishing motor skills guided by sensory perception. Finally, knowledge representation formalisms from AI now support basic cognition in artificial animals. The talk will be richly illustrated with CG images and video.

BIO:

Demetri Terzopoulos (PhD '84 MIT) is Professor of Computer Science and Electrical & Computer Engineering at the University of Toronto, where he leads the Visual Modeling Group and is a Canada Council Killam Fellow. He also leads the Computer Graphics Animation research group at Intel Corporation in Santa Clara, CA. Prior to joining the University of Toronto in 1989, he was a program leader at Schlumberger corporate research centers in California and Texas. His published works include more than 200 scientific articles and several volumes, primarily in computer vision and graphics, and also in medical imaging, computer-aided design, artificial intelligence, and artificial life. Professor Terzopoulos' contributions have been recognized with awards from the IEEE, the American Association for Artificial Intelligence, the International Digital Media Foundation, Ars Electronica, NICOGRAPH (Japan), and the Canadian Image Processing and Pattern Recognition Society. He has received three of Canada's most prestigious research fellowships and five University of Toronto Excellence Awards. He has served on DARPA, NIH, and NSF advisory committees and was program co-chair of the 1998 IEEE Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition (CVPR'98).