Computer graphics can now expand its new subset, wide-angle projection, to be as significant a generic capability as computer graphics itself. Some prior work in computer graphics is presented which leads to an attractive further subset of wide-angle projection, called hemispheric projection, to be a major communication media. Hemispheric film systems have long been present and such computer graphics systems are in use in simulators. This is the leading edge of capabilities which should ultimately be as ubiquitous as CRTs (cathode-ray tubes). These assertions are not from degrees in science or only from a degree in graphic design, but in a history of computer graphics innovations, laying groundwork by demonstration. The author believes that it is timely to look at several development strategies, since hemispheric projection is now at a point comparable to the early stages of computer graphics, requiring similar patterns of development again

Fetter, William A.

English

NASA Technical Reports Server

N90-22963
WIDE-ANGLE DISPLAY DEVELOPMENTS
GRAPHICS
William A. Fetter
Research Director, SIROCO
2165 156th Avenue Southeast
Bellevue, Washington
BY COMPUTER
SUMMARY
Computer graphics can now expand its new subset, wide-angle projection, to be as significant
a generic capability as computer graphics itself. My purpose is to present you with some prior
work in computer graphics leading to an attractive further subset of wide-angle projection, called
hemispheric projection, to be a major communication media. Hemispheric fill systems have long
been present and such computer graphics systems are in use in simulators. This is the leading edge
of capabilities which should ultimately be as ubiquitous as CRTs. The credentials I have for mak-
ing these assertions are not from degrees in science or only from my degree in graphic design, but
in a history of computer graphics innovations, laying groundwork by demonstration. I believe it is
timely to look at several development strategies, since hemispheric projection is now at a point
comparable to the early stages of computer graphics, requiring similar patterns of development
again.
POLARITY
Nobel Prize winner, Dr. Herbert Simon of Carnegie-Mellon University, in his book SCIENCE
OF THE ARTIFICIAL, characterized the natural sciences as the pursuit of "what is," and the sci-
ences of the artificial (which includes design), as the pursuit of "what should be." It occurs to me
that NASA, more than any institution in history, has to stretch itself to the extreme ends of these
polarities as well as cover the complete spectrum between. In designing vital systems, it must
reach into the future, championing far-sighted objectives while using the most rigorous scientific
knowledge, especially human performance. Each of these polarities has an organizational counter-
part which can effect patterns of achievement. In the early stages of a new development, I believe
it is fitting and effective to operate in the "what should be" mode, with attention to, and migration
toward, the "what is" mode.
BACKGROUND
Computer graphics efforts have included a number of research and development paths such as
simulations of cockpit visibility, human figure performance, operations analysis and wide-angle
projection. Many of these paths were firsts and many of these were followed up over decades in
three work environments, Boeing, SIU-C, and SIROCO. This work often stimulated others by
showing "what to do," helping to spawn some of the computer graphics capabilities we see today.
47-1
https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=19900013647 2020-03-19T22:07:06+00:00Z
The approaches taken can be usefully applied to the development of an array of hemispheric-
projection display-system applications.
COMPUTER GRAPHICS
The term computer graphics was coined about my initial work at the Boeing Company in 1959.
I cannot claim that I coined the term, as some have suggested, because, in reality my supervisor,
Veme Hudson, both authorized my proposal to work in this area and further suggested shortening
my longer project title to just the two words.
This effort began with a research letter defining a near-term effort, h also listed the ultimately
sought attributes of computer graphics, which included many of the visual characteristics in the
field today. This work also achieved the landmark Bernhart-Fetter patent on perspective images
generated by digital computer. An organization was assembled to form a close relationship
between research, demonstrations and direct applications to needed tasks.
The overall goals of more accurate, reliable, and clear images are sought in advancing hemi-
spheric display systems.
The precursor to my computer graphics innovations at Boeing was a hand plot, which I then
illustrated in the process of designing a book. During graphic design assignments at the University
of Illinois Press Art Division, I designed the book SPACE MEDICINE for Werner Von Braun. I
felt that an illustration of his space station concept should appear in orbit on the title page and that it
should be as accurate as possible, in part, an homage to Chesely Bonestele. So that it would be
precise, I plotted points by hand, using a technique that eliminated the vanishing points then taught
in schools. The tiresome degree of repetition in the process and the emerging claims for computer
capabilities convinced me that at some time in the future I would have a computer assist this
process.
Now let us look at the efforts at the Boeing Company during the 1960s by glimpsing several
lines of research and applications to aerospace requirements.
1. Eye: All of our activity was directed to more effectively reach the eye/brain complex in
support of engineering design.
2. Computer Interior: The task was to utilize any existing computer system available to us at
Boeing in order to carry out the production of useful images and series of images.
3. Communication Need: We developed an approach of defining our communication work
within a spectrum of needs to be met.
4. Communication Media: We made every effort to relate the need to specific media and to
integrate computer graphics into that flow.
5. Boeing 747: Static output was produced using computer graphics axonometrics and per-
spectives such as this Boeing 747. We merged our work with such related capabilities as master
dimensions.
47-2
6. Carrierlanding: More dynamic applications included dozens of color/sound motion pic-
tures, on all major Boeing designs of the 1960s.
7. SST Mockup: Support to mockups included the Supersonic Transport 60-ft-wide dio-
rama of precise views at the 100-ft decision point.
8. First Man: Human figure simulations were applied to 747 and space cockpit studies of
reach and instrument vision, using 100 body sizes.
9. Hemispheric: Preliminary software was demonstrated for stimulus material to be pro-
jected on the interior surface of a hemisphere.
10. Interactive: Studies of interactive human factors computer graphics included anthropo-
metrics, visibility, and other applications.
(Our disseminations stimulated other manufacturers' work. For example, GE, seeing our
Runway Visual Range studies, was able, with their outstanding capability, to produce more
advanced fog simulations.)
11. 747 Polar Plot: An early purpose for wide-angle projections, in this case a Mercator
projection, was the fu'st computer graphics polar plot to aid in meeting FAA requirements for the
Boeing 747 visibility.
12. Screen Angle: Our efforts to explore wider viewing angles made it desirable to gain fur-
ther human factors information such as Dreyfuss.
13. Human Factors in Design: In seeking out information we wanted to design systems not
interfering with other human factors parameters.
14. Pacific Science Center: This hemispheric display facility for films designed by Boeing in
Seattle was useful and convenient.
15. First Test: Some of the early tests did not yield a perfect match and the geometry of the
software had to be rewritten.
16. Room Test: The next successful tests included one showing visual effects of sitting in a
square room viewed inside a hemisphere.
17. 747 Cockpit: Among the test applications made was the 747 cockpit windows displayed
as seen from the interior.
(We also proposed to use the hemispherics in the E series 747 aircraft for high-level decision
makers to rapidly apprehend complex displays.)
18. Vulnerability: An application to vulnerability studies used the similarity of hemispheric
geometry to the geometry of airburst threats.
47-3
19. NASA: A potential application with NASA Public Relations was to use telemetered dis-
plays for better public understanding of the space effort, including output to television or hemi-
spheric facilities.
Now let us look at our hemispheric path of work at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale
during the 1970s, to apply this to more comprehensive design issues.
1. Computer Graphics Research: At the SIU-C Department of Design in the 1970s, we
conducted further computer graphics research under the sponsorship of the SIU-C Research and
Projects Office, the National Science Foundation, and other private sector sources.
2. Association of Science/Technology Centers: As an outgrowth of the earlier NASA public
relations study and the new goals at SIU to develop Buckminster Fuller's advanced concept of a
World Resources Simulation Center, we again looked at the potential of existing hemispheric facil-
ities that could convey necessary information to the public. A related project involved an SIU
committee on Earth Resources and a period of time spent at NASA to determine types of satellite
imagery available that might be processed through this type of facility.
3. Pacific Science Center Spacearium: During the 1970s, the modest research funding lev-
els limited the tests to projecting glass slides. Mose of these centers have geometry which does not
exactly match.
4. 70-MM Wide-Angle Film: Sample film from the Spaceaxium shows the identical distor-
tions our test plots matched. Members of the Psychology Department at SIU-C found the possi-
bilities for group interaction and decision-making in such a system to be promising. Among the
more obvious advantages were the wide field of view, absence of extraneous visual elements, and
the resulting complete attention by the observer. Among the more obvious disadvantages were the
cost, complexity, and size of the systems then available or fundable to build.
Now let us look at the hemispheric research path at SIROCO, an independent research institute,
in the 1980s.
1. Yards, Feet, Inches: At SIROCO, the perimeter folding problem was solved and special
attributes of hemispheric displays were studies. One attribute was maintaining orientation within a
display of a hierarchy of facts and images. A simple example here is yards, feet, and inches.
While the full effect cannot be seen in a simple fiat slide example, the advantages are more apparent
in hemispheric images.
2. Earth: To demonstrate the value of a capacity for great changes in scale, nce_ded for a
world resources center, a long zoom was created.
3. United States: The zoom continues toward the United States.
4. Illinois: We continue, showing Illinois county boundaries.
5. Carbondale: And on to the street grid of Carbondale, Illinois.
6. Human Figures: And finally to the scale of two human figures.
47-4
7. Color: Theimagescanbein color. Thesequenceoutlinedpreviouslyendswithour
humanfigure,which is basedononly onedatabaseof aninfinite numberof accuratesurfacedefi-
nitionsof anthropometricpercentilesandsomatotypes.Thisrenderingwasdonein a joint activity
with the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory using Frank Crow's HILITE, Steve Williams'
updates.
In 1978 at SIROCO, we made a proposal to NASA on hemispheric display. This was
approved for scientific merit; however, it could not be funded. In 1981, in assisting the SIG-
GRAPH committee which sponsored the annual meeting in Seattle, we worked successfully to
reinstate the showing of Nelson Max's IMAX film demonstration of wide angle. In 1984 our
original work helped stimulate SIGGRAPH's OMNIMAX f'dm production.
Where is hemispheric going? I believe the answer is EVERYWHERE. At NASA, both hemi-
spheric and spheric displays are already used in existing and emerging simulators. In future space
flights, hemispheric projection should find its way into the crew's flight deck, work stations, and
entertainment stations. In communicating with computers, there is just as large a bottleneck at the
visual interface as at the internal bottlenecks that gave rise to parallel processing. Hemispheric
projection can contribute solutions. Elsewhere, hemispheric technologies that emerge should
benefit from economy-of-means in both computing and visual systems. Only a small proportion of
a complete hemispheric image needs to be generated for many applications using head-mounted
displays. With the costs for computer capacities dropping dramatically, even processing all the
pixels should become practical for more applications.
CONCLUSION
There are fundamental human factors issues involved in this new tool. We should build
generic systems rather than reinvent each application. We should, I believe, develop a location for
multipurpose breadboard demonstrations with the balanced support and stimulus of a wide variety
of relevant technological expertise. Further, we should explore whole new communication
modalities such as "Orientation Graphics," "Discovery Graphics," and "Analogy Graphics." Spin-
offs in miniatured, low-cost systems should find their way into offices and work stations.
I have presented my personal experiences over a period of years because there are elements of
these early holistic approaches needed now. NASA may be the best institution in which to explore
this since at NASA, as in hemispheric displays, we are at just the beginning of practical visions of
the future that are all about us.
47-5



Wide-angle display developments by computer graphics

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

NASA Technical Reports Server