CS/CNS 174, Computer Graphics Projects

Time:	3-4pm MWF
Location:	Jorgensen 74
Instructor:	Prof. Al Barr   barr@cs.caltech.edu

Spring Quarter, 2008

Computer Graphics Projects. This laboratory class offers students an opportunity for independent work covering recent computer graphics research. In coordination with the instructor, students select a computer graphics modeling, rendering, interaction, or related algorithm and implement it. Students are required to present their work in class and discuss the results of their implementation and possible improvements to the basic methods.

Links to a few previous projects

Course Details, Spring 2008:

In this one-quarter course students implement a computer graphics algorithm or simulation program of ``reasonable'' size and complexity. It could involve implementing an algorithm from a Siggraph paper, or it could be the computer graphics component of some other project. It could involve animation and the creation of a video, or various types of interactive computer graphics efforts.

Questions should be directed to barr@cs.caltech.edu which goes to Prof. Barr.

1. In 2008, classes will be held:

• Week 1: Monday, Wednesday, 3pm Jorgensen 74.

• End-of-quarter, weeks 8-10, starting 3pm Friday May 23, 2008. Presentations will then take place each of the regular 3pm-4pm MWF times at 3pm, until Friday June 6, 2008 because senior grades are due Monday June 9, 2008 and other undergrad grades are due Wed June 18, 2008.

  These will involve a 10-15 minute presentation and demo of your project to the class; also you'll hand in your final writeup atl that time. You should attend the other student presentations, and the other CS174 students should attend your presentation and ask questions.

  There are approximately 10 people taking the class this year; with these six classes, at 20 minutes each, that leaves enough room for 18 presentation slots. If needed, we can add a few more presentation days MWF the following week for undergrads.

  Note that Monday May 26 2008 is Memorial Day, a holiday, so there will not be class on that day.

  Take a look at the Barr schedule and search for "174" to see the presentation times. When a student's presentation has been scheduled, they should be visiblly listed on the schedule, shown as presenting on those days.

2. Term Projects are due:

• The initial project proposal is due Monday, April 23, 2008. Please send pdf, html, plain text, ps, or Word files to barradmin@cs.caltech.edu Other document formats may also be acceptable.
• The instructor (Barr) is available for discussion and meetings about your project that you may wish to have; please set up appointments via e-mail using the above link.
• There is a potential mid-quarter assessment of the projects (TBA)
• The final class presentation, project writeup and demo are due starting Friday May 18, 2008 and continuing MWF through Friday May 31.

  Note that final exams for seniors/grad students begins Wed May 30, June 6 for undergraduates.

3. Description of Term Project

The purpose of the term project is to to gain experience by implementing a computer graphics algorithm or simulation program of "reasonable" size and complexity for the ten week time frame. It could involve implementing an algorithm from a Siggraph paper, or it could be the computer graphics component of some other project. It could involve animation and the creation of a video, or various types of interactive computer graphics efforts.

We request two written descriptions of your project: a project proposal, and a final project description. The two writeups are very similar. The italicized portions of this document, in square brackets [] apply to the project proposal.

The write-ups should be as short as possible and as long as necessary to communicate what you [plan to do] did. It should be clear enough for other people to understand and duplicate the work.

In addition, when you present I would like to receive a copy of your presentation (say, in powerpoint or pdf form). With your permission, some of the presentations may be put on the CS174 web page, for other people to see. (See A few previous projects ).

Mixing this project with other projects and some types of collaboration with other students is acceptable. This should be discussed with the instructor, in advance.

Sections in the Write-up

• Executive Summary [What you're proposing to do] An overview of what you have done in your project.
• Abstraction A description of the computer-graphics phenomenon, object or system that you will be modeling/simulating/creating. It should include the features you [plan to] include in the models, and the features you exclude.
• Mathematical Representation This section will contain the [preliminary] descriptions and equations to be used in the computer graphics models and simulations.
• Algorithms/Computational Implementation Please describe [preliminary versions of] the computational and numerical approaches you [plan to] have used, algorithm pseudocode, etc.
• Results A description of the results of the modeling and simulation activities you [expect to] obtain. If your project involves animation, please include an mpg or videotape of results.
• [Fall Back Position] [Since there are only about nine weeks to work on the project, it will be useful to have a version of the project that is definitely implementable in the time frame. You may wish to mention any special issues that may cause you trouble. But choosing a ``fall-back'' project of smaller scope will be very beneficial.]
• Conclusions Please comment on advantages and disadvantages of the approach, unexpected aspects of the project, future work, etc.
• Appendices This is a good place to provide supplemental information that would otherwise break the flow of the reading of the project write-ups. It could also include copies of research papers that may be informative to the reader.