#14: Advanced Issues in Level of Detail

Organizer
David Luebke (University of Virginia)

Lecturers
Jonathan Cohen The Johns Hopkins University)
Rob Heubner (Nihilistic Software)
David Luebke (University of Virginia)
Martin Reddy (SRI International)
Amitabh Varshney (University of Maryland)
Benjamin Watson (Northwestern University)

Overview
For graphics and games developers, Level of Detail (LOD) algorithms have become a crucial tool for managing complexity. This advanced course addresses some important issues in using LOD, including evaluating geometric and perceptual fidelity of LODs, balancing fidelity and performance, controlled topology reduction, and view-dependent LOD.

Prerequisites
Knowledge of the basic LOD concept and experience with interactive graphics systems. This course is designed for developers who want to become sophisticated LOD users and researchers who want to broaden their knowledge of the field.

Topics
Algorithms and frameworks (appearance-preserving simplification, continuous and view-dependent LOD, controlled topology reduction). Theory: measuring and controlling fidelity (LOD error metrics for geometry and attributes, perceptual analysis of degradation in detail, the fidelity-performance tradeoff, perceptual issues). Applications (terrain simplification, gaming optimizations).

Course #14 notes are a set of eight PowerPoint presentations.