Real 3-d

Intel Corporation

Walter Robert Steiner

Harry Charles Lee

Robert James Caesar

Michael Leroy Morgan

William Arthur Kelly

Gregory Charles Buchner

A method and apparatus, for use in a computer image generation system wherein polygons are displayed on an array of pixels, for encoding data representing intersections of the polygons and the pixels. The method comprises the steps of receiving input data signals characterizing a set of coordinates of each of at least three vertices of each polygon to be displayed, each different pair of the vertices of each polygon defining a different edge of the polygon; and generating, responsive to the received vertex data signals, edge data signals describing the intersection, if any, of the polygon edges with each pixel to be displayed.

S-buffer anti-aliasing method

The total illumination of each pixel to be displayed by a real-time computer image generator, is determined for at least one source illuminating a scene to be displayed, by storing in an observer depth buffer data signals representing those portions of object polygons visible to the observer in each pixel of the display, and storing in a source depth buffer, associated with each of the at least one scene-illuminating light sources, data signals representing illumination intensity received by each polygon pixel viewable from that associated source. A data signal, for each displayable pixel in the observer depth buffer, is generated by combining in non-saturating manner the illumination intensity of each light source impingent upon the equivalent pixel in all of the associated source depth buffers.

Illumination and shadow simulation in a computer graphics/imaging system

The final viewable color of each pixel to be displayed responsive to specular reflected illumination intensity from a polygon is determined by generating a data signal, setting a specular component of the present pixel illumination intensity for the associated color, as the product of the intensity of a light source illuminating the polygon, a specular coefficient for that polygon, and a shading term proportional to the exponentiation of the rendered Gouraud Shading Intensity (GSI) for each of a plurality of selected primary colors of a sequence of pixels to be displayed as defining that polygon, by S, a shininess exponent (S) specified for that polygon.

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Enterprise, FL, United States of America

Walter Robert Steiner