A unified architecture for the computation of B-spline curves and surfaces

Gopi, Meenakshisundaram and Manohar, Swami (1997) A unified architecture for the computation of B-spline curves and surfaces. In: IEEE Transactions On Parallel And Distributed Systems, 8 (12). pp. 2275-1287.

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Abstract

B-Splines, in general, and Non-Uniform Rational B-Splines (NURBS), in particular, have become indispensable modeling primitives in computer graphics and geometric modeling applications. In this paper, a novel high-performance architecture for the computation of uniform, nonuniform, rational, and nonrational B-Spline curves and surfaces is presented. This architecture has been derived through a sequence of steps. First, a systolic architecture for the computation of the basis function values, the basis function evaluation array (the BFEA), is developed. Using the BFEA as its core, an architecture for the computation of NURBS curves is constructed. This architecture is then extended to compute NURBS surfaces. Finally, this architecture is augmented to compute the surface normals, so that the output from this architecture can be directly used for rendering the NU RES surface. The overall linear structure of the architecture, its small 110 requirements, its nondependence on the size of the problem (in terms of the number of control points and the number of points on the curve/surface that have to be computed), and its very high throughput make this architecture highly suitable for integration into the standard graphics pipeline of high-end workstations. Results of the timing analysis indicate a potential throughput of one triangle with the normal vectors at its vertices, every two clock cycles.

Item Type:	Journal Article
Publication:	IEEE Transactions On Parallel And Distributed Systems
Publisher:	IEEE-Inst Electrical Electronics Engineers
Additional Information:	Copyright of this article belongs to IEEE-Inst Electrical Electronics Engineers
Department/Centre:	Division of Interdisciplinary Sciences > Supercomputer Education & Research Centre
Date Deposited:	11 Feb 2010 09:52
Last Modified:	19 Sep 2010 05:01
URI:	http://eprints.iisc.ac.in/id/eprint/18433

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