Syllabus
Overview
Computer representations of piece-wise smooth surfaces have become
vital technologies in areas ranging from interactive games
and feature film production to aircraft design and medical
diagnosis. One of the fundamental requirements for all computer
graphics applications is the need for sophisticated techniques for
representing and processing geometric object models.
Two dominant surface representations are polygon meshes and point
clouds. In this course, we will explore some of the more important
techniques for working with non-trivial surface meshes and point
clouds. Most of the material we will discuss is taken from the recent
research literature. Topics covered in the course will include:
- Mesh representation - half-edge, quad-edge, etc.
- Isosurface extraction algorithms - marching cubes, marching tetrahedra
- Surface reconstruction algorithms - triangulation schemes, variational approaches
- Data reduction - simplification, compression, efficient rendering.
- Mesh processing - smoothing, parameterization, remeshing, segmentation.
- Geometry authoring - interactive design and automatic surface reconstruction.
- Out-of-core processing - working with data larger than main memory.
Format
Papers
During the course of the semester, we will read a number of papers drawn from the research literature. The required reading for each class will generally be 1–2 papers. For each paper, you should send me a brief summary prior to class. First, you should describe the key points of the paper in 2–3 sentences. Then, you should write down the biggest question you have about the paper; this may be something you didn’t understand or that you feel the authors didn’t adequately address. E-mail this little write-up to me at taubin@brown.edu and put the corresponding class date in the subject line. Your summary is due by 11:00 a.m. of the day on which that paper is being discussed.
Topical notes
Each student will be assigned to assemble written notes for one of the topics covered in the course. These notes will be posted on the course website.
Presentations
Everyone taking this course will deliver an in-class presentation on one of the papers we’ll be reading. Nominally, you will be giving a presentation on one of the papers discussed under the topic for which you are writing notes.
Projects
There will be several individual programming project assignments over the course of the semester, and a group final project.
Evaluation
Final grades in this course will be based on in-class participation and performance on assignments. There will be no exams. Grades in the individual areas will be weighted as follows:
- Class participation 10%
- Paper presentation 15%
- Written notes 15%
- Individual projects 40%
- Group final project 20%