Sculptbox: a volumetric environment for interactive design of three-dimensional objects
Alan E. Richardson, Robert P. Burton, William A. Barrett · Proceedings of SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering/Proceedings of SPIE · 1990
A volumetric computer graphics system for interactive three-dimensional object design has been designed and implemented with capabilities which are not avai1abk in traditional polygonal-based systems. These new capabilities provide the user with a sculpting-like environment. The key to the system is its ability to generate and manipulate objects of arbitrary shape and complexity in (volumetric) object space while displaying shaded projection images of the objects in (two-dimensional) image space at various orientations and in "real time" for motion parallax depth cueing. This ability is realized with a volumetric object definition and new techniques for volumetric display and interaction, such as integer-based ray tracing and multiple image buffering. System modules include: 1) the Volume Object Space Module, where the volume definition and object information is stored and accessed; 2) the Image Generation Module, which generates arbitrary two-dimensional views with depth cue information from the three-dimensional object space; 3) the Image Display Module, which handles storage of and access to the actual images displayed; 4) the Edit Module, which performs various object modification tasks; and 5) the User Interface Module, which handles user interaction. A system for interactive volumetric rendering and editing provides great flexibility and extensibility for interactive design and display of arbitrarily complex shapes.