Visual Importance-Biased Image Synthesis Animation

Present ray tracing algorithms are computationally intensive, requiring hours of computing time for complex scenes. Our previous work has dealt with the development of an overall approach to the application of visual attention to progressive and adaptive ray-tracing techniques. The approach facilitates large computational savings by modulating the supersampling rates in an image by the visual importance of the region being rendered. This paper extends the approach by incorporating temporal changes into the models and techniques developed, as it is expected that further efficiency savings can be reaped for animated scenes. Applications for this approach include entertainment, visualisation and simulation

Tecnología modular orientada a shaders en la generación de grandes entornos

Este artículo presenta las últimas investigaciones y desarrollos en tecnología modular, la repetición optimizada de una misma geometría o módulo, para la generación de grandes entornos virtuales para los simuladores que desarrolla CITEF. La tendencia actual va por redirigir la máxima parte posible del cálculo gráfico a la GPU, descargando en la medida de lo posible la CPU, más lenta y menos apta para el cálculo gráfico. La tecnología modular, que se utiliza con éxito desde hace tiempo en los simuladores de entrenamiento en conducción, está especialmente indicada para la aplicación de operaciones en la GPU mediante la programación de shaders. De esta forma se consigue reducir sustancialmente el número de entidades geográficas del entorno y aumentar la diversidad y flexibilidad del mismo. Esto se consigue discretizando el entorno en una serie de módulos instanciables y aplicando los shaders de forma adecuada en base solamente a unos pocos parámetros. Son múltiples las ventajas que proporciona esta forma de generación, ahorro en tamaño del escenario, tiempos de carga y requerimientos de recursos, mayor flexibilidad y claridad del scene graph y una considerable mayor capacidad de actualización del entorno

Visual Attention in 3D Video Games.

Understanding players’ visual attention patterns within an interactive 3D game environment is an important research area that can improve game level design and graphics. Several graphics techniques use a perception based rendering method to enhance graphics quality while achieving the fast rendering speed required for fast-paced 3D video games. Game designers can also enhance game play by adjusting the level design, texture and color choices, and objects’ locations, if such decisions are informed by a study of players’ visual attention patterns in 3D game environments. This paper seeks to address this issue. We present results showing different visual attention patterns that players exhibit in two different game types: action-adventure games and first person shooter games. In addition, analyzing visual attention patterns within a complex 3D game environment presents a new challenge because the environment is very complex with many rapidly changing conditions; the methods used in previous research cannot be used in such environments. In this paper, we will discuss our exploration seeking a new approach to analyze visual attention patterns within interactive 3D environments

Automating content generation for large-scale virtual learning environments using semantic web services

The integration of semantic web services with three-dimensional virtual worlds offers many potential avenues for the creation of dynamic, content-rich environments which can be used to entertain, educate, and inform. One such avenue is the fusion of the large volumes of data from Wiki-based sources with virtual representations of historic locations, using semantics to filter and present data to users in effective and personalisable ways. This paper explores the potential for such integration, addressing challenges ranging from accurately transposing virtual world locales to semantically-linked real world data, to integrating diverse ranges of semantic information sources in a usercentric and seamless fashion. A demonstrated proof-of-concept, using the Rome Reborn model, a detailed 3D representation of Ancient Rome within the Aurelian Walls, shows several advantages that can be gained through the use of existing Wiki and semantic web services to rapidly and automatically annotate content, as well as demonstrating the increasing need for Wiki content to be represented in a semantically-rich form. Such an approach has applications in a range of different contexts, including education, training, and cultural heritage

Attention and visual memory in visualization and computer graphics

Abstract—A fundamental goal of visualization is to produce images of data that support visual analysis, exploration, and discovery of novel insights. An important consideration during visualization design is the role of human visual perception. How we “see ” details in an image can directly impact a viewer’s efficiency and effectiveness. This paper surveys research on attention and visual perception, with a specific focus on results that have direct relevance to visualization and visual analytics. We discuss theories of low-level visual perception, then show how these findings form a foundation for more recent work on visual memory and visual attention. We conclude with a brief overview of how knowledge of visual attention and visual memory is being applied in visualization and graphics. We also discuss how challenges in visualization are motivating research in psychophysics