CSCE 645/VIZA 675             Geometric Modeling

 

Class Meets:

Tuesday, Thursday 11:10 – 12:25

CE 007

 

Class Web Page:

http://courses.cs.tamu.edu/schaefer/645_Fall2015

 

Instructor:

Dr. Scott Schaefer

Office: 527B H.R. Bright Building

Phone: 862-4251

email:

Office Hours: 10am-11am TR (or by appointment)

 

Topics and Goals:

This class is intended to give students both a broader understanding of geometric and solid modeling (through class discussions and homework assignments) and in-depth experience with a particular geometric modeling topic (through a course project).  By the end of the class, students should be:

  • Comfortable with all of the major terms and concepts in geometric modeling
  • Able to apply concepts to specific geometric modeling problems
  • Able to implement key parts of certain modeling techniques
  • Extremely familiar with at least one topic of current interest related to geometric or solid modeling
  • Able to independently read and study current geometric and solid modeling research publications
  • Prepared to pursue further research in geometric or solid modeling

 

Among the specific topics to be covered are (numbers in parentheses are approximate number of weeks spent on each topic):

·        Terminology, coordinate systems, and implicit forms (1)

·        Parametric and spline representations of curves and surfaces and their uses (5)

·        Basic differential geometry of curves and surfaces (1)

·        Subdivision surfaces (2)

·        Solid modeling paradigms and operations (2)

·        Robustness and accuracy in geometric computations (1)

·        Advanced or Application-oriented topics (3)

 

 

 

 

 

Work required:

Work outside of class will consist of:

Reading: Readings from the required textbook and from other research papers will be given out throughout the semester.  Students are responsible for keeping up with these reading assignments, even if they are not covered in class. If the instructor believes students are not keeping up with the readings adequately, short quizzes might be given out to verify that students are keeping up with the reading.  Such quizzes would make up as much as 10% of the overall grade (with the other areas counting proportionally less).

Homeworks: Homework assignments will be assigned at various points throughout the semester.  Students will have.  The initial plans are for a total of 4 assignments with approximately 2 weeks to work on each assignment, but this is subject to change.

Course Project: More information about the course project will be provided in a separate class handout.  Students are expected to work on the project throughout the entire semester.

 

Prerequisites:

CSCE 441 is listed as a prerequisite in the course catalog.  This is not a hard requirement.  While having this class will be helpful, you should be able to do fine in the class even if you haven’t had it.

It is assumed that you have had a class in linear algebra.  Also, you should feel comfortable programming in C/C++, particularly programming involving mathematical manipulation.  For example, you should feel OK about writing a routine to find the determinant of a matrix, in the process of coding in a homework assignment.  Some graphics (OpenGL) programming will be used, but we will try to provide necessary skeleton code and review/training so that those without such experience will be able to complete the work.

 

Grading:

There will be no exams in the class. Note that although there is no final exam, the class may meet during that time for project presentations, so please keep it open (whether we meet then will be decided later in the semester).  Homework assignments (each equally weighted) will count for over half the overall grade, and a course project of the student’s choosing will account for the remainder.

            Homeworks:    60%

            Project:           40%

The expected grading scale will be A ³ 90% > B ³ 80% > C ³ 70% > D ³ 60% > F.  Depending on the final percentage distribution, an absolute or relative curve may be applied, although students should not expect that this will happen.  In addition, the instructor reserves the right to change grades near a “borderline” to the next higher or lower letter grade.  Factors weighing into this decision will be the individual student’s perceived effort, attendance, and class participation.  Also, the instructor reserves the option (as indicated above), to give quizzes if it appears that students are not keeping up with the readings.  Such quizzes would count no more than 10% of the overall grade, with homework and projects still counting equally.

 

 

Textbook:

There is one required textbook:

Farin, G. Curves and Surfaces for CAGD, a Practical Guide, 5th edition.  Morgan Kaufmann, 2001.

The book should be available from the MSC Bookstore, if not elsewhere.

            Readings will be assigned from the textbook, as well as from other papers.  When readings are assigned from other papers, the instructor will either provide a copy of the paper (outside the office door) that you can examine/copy, or will provide a reference that you can access in electronic form from the campus library.  You should familiarize yourself with accessing the digital libraries provided at TAMU if you are not already familiar with them.

The required textbook does not cover certain areas of the course at all, and covers other areas in greater detail than we will explore.  There are a variety of other books that you might want to consult, as they provide more detail about other aspects of the material.  These include:

·        Cohen, Riesenfeld, Elber, Geometric Modeling with Splines, An Introduction.  AK Peters, Natick, MA, 2001.

·        Mortenson, M. Geometric Modeling.  Industrial Press, Inc., 2006.

·        Hoschek, J, Lasser, D. Fundamentals of Computer Aided Geometric Design.  AK Peters, 1993.

·        Hoffmann, C. M. Geometric and Solid Modeling, An Introduction.  Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, San Mateo, CA, 1989.

·        Foley, van Dam, Feiner, Hughes. Computer Graphics Principles and Practice, Second Edition in C, Addison Wesley, Boston, 1996.

  Hoffmann’s book is also now available online at: http://www.cs.purdue.edu/homes/cmh/distribution/books/geo.html

 

Policies:

Attendance: Attendance is an important part of this class.  Much of the material will not be covered outside of class (through either assignments or readings), so student attendance and participation is important to learning the material.  Attendance and class participation will be used to slightly modify grades, as described above.

Late Assignments: Late assignments will not be accepted.  Assignments are due at the beginning of the class on the due date assigned.  If an excusable absence is anticipated or occurs, you should contact the instructor as soon as you know you will be absent.  In general, you should finish and turn in assignments before the absence, although turning it in shortly after the due date may be allowed with the permission of the instructor.

Communication: Students are responsible for checking both the web page and email regularly for class updates.

Code Documentation: When assignments are graded, source code may be examined to verify the way a solution was achieved or to award partial credit.  It is your responsibility to make sure that your source code is presented in a clear, readable, way.  Even if your code “works,” if the person grading can’t understand it, you may lose points.

 

 

 

Academic Honesty:

The Aggie Honor Code is: “An Aggie does not lie, cheat, or steal or tolerate those who do.”  Upon accepting admission to Texas A&M University, a student immediately assumes a commitment to uphold the Honor Code, to accept responsibility for learning, and to follow the philosophy and rules of the Honor System. Students will be required to state their commitment on examinations, research papers, and other academic work. Ignorance of the rules does not exclude any member of the TAMU community from the requirements or the processes of the Honor System. For additional information please visit: aggiehonor.tamu.edu/

 

For this class, the interpretation of the code will be as follows: Unless specifically stated otherwise, all assignments are to be done on your own (unless specified otherwise).  You may discuss general concepts, and get help in tracking down a persistent bug, but should not copy work, download code from the web or other sources, or work together with other students on problems or programs unless specifically stated otherwise.  By turning in an assignment or exam, you are implicitly assumed to be committing to the honor code.  If you are unsure of whether a type of cooperation is appropriate, check with the instructor first.  That is, you should err on the side of assuming cooperation is not allowed.

 

ADA Statement:

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a federal antidiscrimination statute that provides comprehensive civil rights protection for persons with disabilities. Among other things, this legislation requires that all students with disabilities be guaranteed a learning environment that provides for reasonable accommodation of their disabilities. If you believe you have a disability requiring an accommodation, please contact the Department of Student Life, Services for Students with Disabilities in Cain Hall, Rm. B118, or call 845-1637.