The Computer Image [Paperback]

Alan Watt (Author), Fabio Policarpo (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 13, 1998

This book is about the computer image, emphasising the 'how', but also addressing the 'whys' and 'wherefores' of this creation of the 20th century. Where did it come from? Where is it going? What is its importance? These questions cannot be answered without a knowledge of the technology itself, its past and its evolutionary forces. The three main fields of computer imagery; computer graphics, image processing and computer vision, are merging in many applications. Computer vision techniques are used in computer graphics to collect and model complex scenes; computer graphics techniques are used to constrain the recognition of 3D objects by computers; image processing techniques are routinely used by graphic designers to manipulate photographs. For the first time this textbook brings all three areas together in a coherent overview.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

The three main fields of computer imagery - Computer graphics, image Processing and Computer vision - are merging in many applications. Computer Vision techniques are used in computer graphics to collect and model complex scenes; computer graphics techniques are used to constrain the recognition of 3D objects by computers; image processing techniques are routinely used by graphic designers to manipulate photographs. For the first time this textbook brings all three areas together in a coherent overview.

Special features

• Unique breadth of coverage of subjects that have previously only appeared in separate texts.

• Novel treatment of the moving image, Virtual reality, medical imaging and computer art.

• Packaged with the book is a CD-ROM that provides implementations of many of the techniques described in the book.

• The CD-ROM contains scene files, animation demonstrations, a complete set of all the images used in the book and a suite of programs.

• 'The software can be used for teaching, experimentation and the development of an application package.

• The source code is written in C++.

• The software includes a Z-buffer renderer, a distributed ray tracer, a radiosity renderer, an image processing module containing all the normal filtering facilities and transforms, morphing and warping software particle/elastic object simulation with collision detection, a progressive image compressor using wavelets (including a Java, ActiveX, OLE, 3DSMAX plugin), stereo and autostereogram generator, modeling software (including a Bezier modeller and a rnesh optimizer), computer vision software including depth from stereo, (low field estimation, object tracking and classification of satellite imagery.

0201422980B04062001

About the Author

Alan Watt is a lecturer in Computer Science at the University of Sheffield.

Fabio Policarpo is a software developer with his own software company Paralelo Computaçao (www.paralelo.com.br) in Rio de Janeiro.

0201422980AB04062001

Product Details

• Paperback: 784 pages
• Publisher: Addison Wesley (July 13, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0201422980
• ISBN-13: 978-0201422986
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 7.7 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #800,282 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars A different kind of image processing book, December 11, 2005

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calvinnme - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Computer Image (Paperback)

This book, based on the premise that computer graphics, computer vision, and image processing are merging into a single discipline, is very unique and interesting because it deals with so many different arcane image processing subjects. My main complaint against the book is that there could have been more algorithms and equations shown considering the mathematical nature of all of the subjects mentioned. However, the CD has the executable and source code for many good programs, which somewhat makes up for this. The tremendous amount of information contained in the book makes it a great reference for someone who already understands basic image processing, computer vision, and computer graphics and just wants to pick up more tricks for the purpose of multimedia programming. For example, it is the only book that I know of that deals with the algorithms for morphing images. It is not a book to be read cover to cover- you'll find yourself skipping around quite a bit. The book's table of contents is as follows:
1. The computer image - an overview.
2. Representation and modelling of three-dimensional objects.
3. Basic realism - lighting polygon objects.
4. Increasing realism - textures and shadows.
5. Increasing realism - the evolution of local reflection models.
6. Increasing realism - global illumination or following the light.
7. Bi-cubics and image synthesis.
8. Defects in computer graphics images.
9. Image processing for enhancement or basic processing in image space.
10. Edges and their detection.
11. Image transforms.
12. Image segmentation.
13. Images and mathematical morphology.
14. Classical pattern recognition and image matching.
15. Towards recognition, understanding and description of 3D scenes.
16. Shape from X.
17. The moving computer image.
18. The moving image in computer vision.
19. The moving image in communications - facial animation.
20. The computer image and the third dimension.
21. Virtual reality and efficiency in image systhesis.
22. Seeing the unseen - the computer image in medicine.
23. The computer image and art.
24. Fundamentals of the computer image.
25. Colour and the computer image.
26. Reducing the information: compressing images - a new frontier.

2 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful comprehensive guide to computer 2D & 3D, June 8, 1999

By 

[e-mail] (Detroit) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Computer Image (Paperback)

This book is great. I have authored a few 3D engines in my day (Dave's 3D Engine for instance), and this book has been a lifesaver. It is not only a great introductory text on the principles of 2D and 3D graphics (complex and simple), but it is an invaluable reference book. It's chapters have succint coverage of just about every major facet of 3D: transformations, shading, everything. It also has some chapters on some of the more arcane stuff too - which is a great read once you springboard off the introductory stuff. Four stars.