Advanced Topics in Computer Graphics

Vorlesung mit Übung im Sommersemester 2021
Prof. Dr. D. Kranzlmüller, Dr. Rubén Jesús García-Hernández

This course will be held in English!

News

Content

The course will provide an overview of advanced topics in computer graphics not currently covered by other LMU courses. In particular:
• Emphasis on real-time algorithms suitable for videogames or interactive exploration of virtual worlds.
• Realistic graphics: Advanced effects not present in off-the-shelf solutions; physical phenomena and implementation possibilities as algorithms.
• Non-photorealistic graphics (for illustrations or for artistic effects); especially real-time effects.
• Introduction to proofs of computational time limits and convergence to the correct solution.
• Remote visualization advantages, disadvantages and implementation details.
• Virtual reality: Caveats and available resources (content of course orthogonal to the subject Virtual Reality (2019, Vorlesung; 2021, Praktikum).
• Applications in Serious games.

An agenda follows:

Part 1, Introduction	Overview, Applications: Computer Games, Modelling, Simulation, Medicine,	T
	Physical transport of light	T
	Human Vision System	T
	Particle model of light	T
Part 2, Computer Graphics	Overview of software to be used during course: unreal, mathematica, paraview, meshlab, novnc, nomad vr	P
	Computer graphics algorithms: rasterization, phong, etc. Buffers and GPUs.	T
Realistic graphics	Raytracing, radiosity. Interesting effects	T
	Data structures and optimizations (GAMETOOLS). PBR materials	T
	Implementation details of effects	P
	Implementation details of computer graphics algorithms	P
	pseudoraytracing: metals, glass. Screen space ambient oclusion	T
NPR	Non Photorealistic Rendering: Introduction, classic examples, GPU post-processing	T
	GAMETOOLS examples and video	P
	Interception of graphic calls by hijacking Opengl.dll or .so, directx.dll	T
	Exercise, test some algorithms on Unreal	P
	Interception of graphic calls by hijacking Opengl.dll or .so, directx.dll	P
Theoretical study	Computability, complexity. Overview of analysis of algorithms	T
	"Statistics (basics); probability of geometric objects (integral geometry)"	T
	Exercise, test dll hijacking DirectX and OpenGL	P
	Global Illumination, pathtracing, photon mapping	T
Theoretical study of photon mapping	Constant kernel, other kernels, variance	T
	Exercise Theoretical Study	P
	Photon mapping with stratified sampling	T
	Exercise on complexity of raytracing, pathtracing and photon mapping	P
Remote Visualization	Concept, advantages and disadvantages, technologies, caveats	T
	Exercise Remote visualization, setup cloud instance	P
Virtual Reality	Intro to Virtual Reality, examples. NOMAD VR	T
	NOMAD VR, extensions for fluid dynamics	T
	Exercise NOMAD VR, prepare dataset, check source code. See different devices.	P
Serious gaming	Concepts, examples. Differences: data recording and analysis by supervisor	T
Unexpected Interactions	Examples of issues on NPR+VR, transparency+VR, etc	T
	Examples of serious games	P
Student Reports	Student Reports (20 mins per student)	E
Course summary and overview	Course summary and overview	T

Audience

The course is intended for master students of computer science. A basic understanding of computer graphics and some background in mathematics and statistics is desirable.

Important Dates

• Lecture: Tuesday, 10:00 to 12:00,
  DNFConf advgra First lecture: 13.04.2021; last: 13.07.2021
• Lab Exercise: Thursday, 12:00 to 14:00,
  DNFConf advgra First lab: 15.04.2021; last: 15.07.2021
• Lab sessons start on the second week of the semester, so there is no class on 15.04.2021. The first lab lesson is on 22.04.2021
• Due to coronavirus, meeting room is DNFConf
• Please keep an eye on News for any short-term changes and announcements.
• Classes are "c.t." (cum tempore), but try to arrive on the hour to allow time for troubleshooting of DNFConf if needed.

Lab Exercises

The lab exercises will include programming the concepts previously showcased in the lessons, with the help of the relevant software, and under the guidance of the teacher.

Downloads

Lecture slides and some additional information will be made available through Uni2work → AdvGra → Materialien webpage.

Further Reading

Under construction:

These books contain in-depth information about various topics which will be covered during the class, and can thus be used as reference material.

	Introduction to computer graphics, Foley, James D.
	Physically Based Rendering: From Theory To Implementation Matt Pharr, Wenzel Jakob, and Greg Humphreys
	Non photorealistic rendering, Gooch and Gooch
	GPU-Based Techniques for Global Illumination Effects, László Szirmay-Kalos, László Szécsi, Mateu Sbert.
	Density estimation for statistics and data analysis , Silverman, Bernard W.
	Order statistics , David, Herbert A.
	Integral Geometry and Geometric Probability, Santalo, Luis.
	Description and Solution of an Unreported Intrinsic Bias in Photon Mapping Density Estimation with Constant Kernel, Garcia-Hernandez, Ruben et al.
	Overestimation and Underestimation Biases in Photon Mapping with Non-Constant Kernels, Garcia-Hernandez, Ruben et al.
	Updated GameTools: Libraries for Easier Advanced Graphics in Serious Gaming, Garcia-Hernandez et al.
	Implementation of an Immersive Videogame: Legends of Girona, Garcia-Hernandez et al.

Additional material:

Meshlab
noVNC
GAMETOOLS
D3D9Interceptor
NOMAD VR


Registration

Please register for the course on Uni2Work (from 01.04.2021).

Contact

Via email and/or after the lecture and lab exercises.

Exam

The exam consists of the following parts:
• Exposition of an agreed-upon thema (20 minute presentation).
• Submission of a report regarding this agreed-upon thema.