CAREER: 3D Sketchpad

Regents Of The University Of Michigan - Ann Arbor, Ann Arbor MI

Investigators

Abstract

This research targets a suite of tools (called "3D Sketchpad") for creating interactive 3D illustrations. Example applications include a teacher explaining physics, an archaeologist recreating a model of an ancient village, a high school student producing an eye-catching animation, and a physician explaining a diagnosis to a patient. The key innovation is to support 3D modeling by drawing. The resulting content looks like the user's drawing, but is 3D in the sense that the viewpoint can be moved interactively. The long-range impact of this research is fourfold. First, tools that let ordinary people create 3D content will dramatically expand the applications of 3D graphics. Second, expert users will design content that they would not have undertaken with current tools because it would be too difficult or time-consuming. Third, these tools support 3D content that is aesthetically closer to traditional illustration than is currently possible. Finally, this technology will propagate synergistically with the growth of pen-based computing. Tools for creating 3D drawings will ultimately be commonplace on tablet PCs, palm devices, and even cell phones. A key challenge is to develop new shape representations and associated operations that support a drawing-based interface. The researchers are developing a new representation, called a "layered mesh", consisting of a multiresolution mesh that is built up incrementally in layers. Each new layer responds dynamically to changes in the previous layers. Layered meshes support the addition of new structures (e.g. limbs of a human figure) and surface details (bumps or bulges) at any resolution. They produce piecewise-smooth manifold surfaces of arbitrary topology. Additional challenges include the development of new non-photorealistic rendering algorithms, new interaction techniques based on gestural input, new methods for generating animation via sketched input, and pattern synthesis tools whereby new shape features, stroke patterns, and motions can all be generated from provided examples.