Canon Kabushiki Kaisha

Adam Michael Billyard

David Lau-Kee

Philip Keith Robertson

Simon David Meldrum

Robert Keith John Withey

Jonathan Andrew Stanley Small

Paul Otto

Michael King

Rabin Ezra

Damian Justin Scallan

A computer games apparatus includes a server operable under the control of a computer program to generate and store data defining a 3D game environment. Objects within that environment can be moved and/or changed in response to signals received by the server from player terminals. Those signals may be transmitted via the Internet and/or other networks. The server renders the object data into data defining one or more views of the 3D environment, which data can then be processed into a broadcastable form for receipt by a plurality of observers. The performance of the apparatus is unaffected by the number of observers actually in receipt of the broadcast data.

Computer games apparatus

There is described a computer graphics apparatus having a data store for storing data defining a computer model comprising a plurality of three-dimensional objects, the computer model varying over time. The computer graphics apparatus processes the data defining the computer model to generate display data defining a sequence of two-dimensional display images, which change as the computer model varies over time, for display to a user. The computer graphics apparatus is also able to generate static image data corresponding to a displayed image in response to an initiation signal. In order to ensure that the static image data corresponds to the displayed image on receipt of the initiation signal, the computer apparatus is arranged to detect modification of the computer model subsequent to the reception of the initiation signal and to store recovery data enabling the computer model corresponding to the display image on receipt of the initiation signal to be generated using the computer model as modified subsequent to the reception of the initiation signal.

Computer graphics apparatus

Computer graphics apparatus is configured to represent an object with surface relief detail in terms of its underlying shape over which is superimposed a mapped geometry to represent the relief feature. Superimposition can be made dependent on a level-of-detail threshold, and masking geometry may also be superimposed to properly mask a texture map otherwise lacking in resolution.

Image processing apparatus

A computer graphics apparatus comprises a modelling package and a rendering package. The modelling package outputs data representative of the definition of a scene to be represented graphically. The rendering package receives data representative of the scene to be represented graphically, and converts that data into rasterised image data. Preprocessing apparatus is provided to arrange the data defining the scene in a manner which can be more easily processed by the rendering package. The preprocessing apparatus partitions the scene by means of partition planes in directions selected from three mutually perpendicular directions. The planes are positioned so as to eliminate as much empty space as possible, to cause as little division of geometry of the scene as possible, and to deliver sections of the scene which contain no more than a particular level of detail.

Computer graphics apparatus for processing of data defining a three-dimensional computer model to partition the three-dimensional space into a plurality of sectors

Image data representing multi-dimensional objects are processed, wherein the objects are represented by a plurality of polygons. Lighting characteristics for the polygons are calculated in response to data representing light sources and lighting parameters defining coefficients of specular reflection and diffuse reflection. Not all polygons have significant levels of specular reflection. Advantage is taken of this and the apparatus is arranged to process polygons having significant levels of specular reflection in accordance with a first process while processing other polygons in accordance with a second process.

3D graphics system grouping surface primitives with and without

In apparatus for processing image data representing multi-dimensional objects, data is stored defining the position of a light source, a viewing position, an arrangement of polygons defining an object and a local transform for transforming said object into viewable 3-dimensional space. Processing means defines the extent of points for an object in each dimension, performs said local transform on said points and determines the extent to which said points are transformed into viewing space. Thus, an evaluation can be made as to where the object will lie in viewing space before polygons are transformed. Culling may then be performed at the object level, rather than at the polygon level.

Apparatus and method for clipping primitives using information from a

To effect hidden surface removal, polygons making up a three dimensional object are initially ordered using a Topological Sort into, for example, three rendering order lists corresponding to orthogonal axis. When the object is to be represented from a given view direction, the view direction is compared to the axis and the rendering list corresponding to the closest match is selected. Polygons are then rendered in list order, backward facing polygons being omitted. Performing the ordering at the polygon level, in an initial step, saves computation and consequently enables the projection and rendering processes to be speeded up to provide real time interactive three dimensional graphics. The Topological Sorting process is particularly computationally effective.

Three dimensional graphics processing with pre-sorting of surface

Image data representing multi-dimensional objects are processed by calculating lighting characteristics in response to lighting parameters of surfaces and the parameters of light sources. Surface highlight characteristics are produced by a non-linear process. However, the non-linear process is performed without reference to a view position. Processing highlight characteristics without reference to the view position allows characteristics to be produced without transforming the view position and without calculating additional vectors.

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Adam Michael Billyard