Level of Detail for 3D Graphics (The Morgan Kaufmann Series in Computer Graphics) (Hardcover)

by David Luebke (Author), Martin Reddy (Author), Jonathan D. Cohen (Author), Amitabh Varshney (Author), Benjamin Watson (Author), Robert Huebner (Author) "Practitioners of computer graphics have always struggled with the tradeoff between complexity and performance..." (more)
Key Phrases: vertex removal operation, lazy queuing algorithm, peripheral fidelity, Display Strip, Grand Canyon, Open Source (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"A textbook treatment of the concepts, theories, algorithms and data structures essential for modeling detailed three-dimensional graphic worlds. The authors provide a conceptual framework for striking the tricky balance between increasing levels of detail (LOD) and the need for smooth, flowing animation. This technical reference will be of use to professionals in game development, computer animation, information visualization, and virtual reality fields." - Design Issues

Product Description

Level of detail (LOD) techniques are increasingly used by professional real-time developers to strike the balance between breathtaking virtual worlds and smooth, flowing animation. Level of Detail for 3D Graphics brings together, for the first time, the mechanisms, principles, practices, and theory needed by every graphics developer seeking to apply LOD methods.

Continuing advances in level of detail management have brought this powerful technology to the forefront of 3D graphics optimization research. This book, written by the very researchers and developers who have built LOD technology, is both a state-of-the-art chronicle of LOD advances and a practical sourcebook, which will enable graphics developers from all disciplines to apply these formidable techniques to their own work.

* Is a complete, practical resource for programmers wishing to incorporate LOD technology into their own systems.
* Is an important reference for professionals in game development, computer animation, information visualization, real-time graphics and simulation, data capture and preview, CAD display, and virtual worlds.
* Is accessible to anyone familiar with the essentials of computer science and interactive computer graphics.
* Covers the full range of LOD methods from mesh simplification to error metrics, as well as advanced issues of human perception, temporal detail, and visual fidelity measurement.
* Includes an accompanying Web site rich in supplementary material including source code, tools, 3D models, public domain software, documentation, LOD updates, and more.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 432 pages
• Publisher: Morgan Kaufmann; 1st edition (July 22, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1558608389
• ISBN-13: 978-1558608382
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 7.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #676,233 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars well written, clearly illustrated, November 30, 2002

By	M. LOPER - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This book gives an excellent overview of the problems and solutions to level-of-detail rendering. Few books in the computer graphics field are this well written.

A few things to note:

- Though there's plenty of material on simplification of polygonal meshes, there doesn't seem to be much on volume (tetrahedral) simplification. My impression is that volume simplification is kind of hairy, though, and might require its own textbook.

- If you wish to do your own level of detail rendering, you may end up reading the papers referred to in the book. Most of those papers are available online (try google).

- The terrain chapter is great, and even deals with real-world issues (geospatial file formats, terrain data on the web, what a geoid is, etc) in addition to an overview of different approaches to terrain simplification.

If you're doing level-of-detail stuff, it is basically your duty to buy this book. I only wish I'd bought it eariler.

6 of 69 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Luebke, August 27, 2002

By A Customer

This is clearly one of the most outstanding Level-of-Detail-for-3D-Graphics-algorithm-survey books currently in print. However I find Luebke, et al.'s choice of a subtitle puzzling. Clearly it should be "Level of Detail for 3D Graphics: Theory and Application", rather than "Level of Detail for 3D Graphics: Application and Theory". If Luebke, et. al. wanted to emphasize the applied nature of their work, it would've been more appropriate to title it "Level of Detail for 3D Graphics: Application, then Theory, and finally some more Application".

Frankly this oversight ruined the whole experience for me.