CS 285: PROCEDURAL MODELING, Spring 2002

Algorithms and Data Structures for Procedural Design,
Solid Modeling, and Rapid Prototyping.

Tentative Topics to Be Covered in Course

(more or less in order)

Core Topics

Review of the Basics

• The Design/Modeling Process.
• Abstractions of Solids, B-reps and Volume Data.
• Surfaces, Polyhedral Mesches, Splines, Subdivision Surfaces.
• Volume Representations, Sampled Distance Fields, Implicit Surfaces.
• Requirements for Layered Manufacturing, SFF, STL, Slicing.
• Analysis of B-Reps, Generalized Euler-Poincare Relations.

Procedural Generation of Geometry

• Repeated Instantiations, Symmetries, Tilings.
• Parameterized Geometries, Simple Sweeps.
• Generalized Sweeps along 3D Curves, Frenet Frames, Twist, Mitring.
• Recursive Procedures, Subdivision Surfaces.
• Offset Surfaces, Thick Walls, Grids.
• Acquisition of Shape by 3D Scanning, Mesh Clean-up,
• Surface Refinement versus Simplification.
• Smoothing versus Randomization; Fractal Mountains.
• Generating Grammars, L-Systems, Plant-like shapes.
• Textures and Curves on Smooth, Arbitrary-Genus Surfaces, Geodesics.
• Part-assemblies, Puzzles, Snap-together Parts, Gears.

Additional Topics

• Platonic Solids, and Regular Polytopes in Higher Dimensions.
• One-sided surfaces, Moebius Bands, Klein Bottles, Boy Surface.
• Fractals, Space-filling Curves, Fractal Landscapes.
• Chaos, Iterated Point Systems, Mandelbrot and Julia Sets.
• Genetic Algorithms; "Blind Watchmaker."
• Fibonacci Series, Philotaxis, Pinapples, Cones, Flowers.
• B-Rep Reconstruction, Marching Cubes.
• Adaptive Mesh Refinement, Progressive Meshes. Compression.
• Analogies from 2D to 3D, Open-ended Design Tasks.
• Walkthrough Models, Challenges of Large Virtual Worlds.