The development and application of computer graphics

In the first half of the 20th century, with the development of electrical technology, electronic technology and television technology, computer graphics began to develop gradually. After decades of development, computer graphics has been used in a large number of applications, such as fluid dynamics visualization, weather prediction, medical visualization, animation, virtual reality, etc.

The history of computer graphics

Infancy of Computer graphics: 1950s

The first graphical display was created in 1950 as an attachment to the Whirlwind I computer at the Massachu-setts Institute of Technology (MIT) . It uses a Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) similar to an oscilloscope as a viable display and interaction interface, and introduces a light pen as an input device.

In 1959, an experiment was carried out on the SAGE (Semi-Automatic Ground Air Defense) system developed by MIT Lincoln Laboratory. A small program was written to capture human finger movement and display its vector information on the computer screen.

Wire-frame Graphics: the 1960s

In 1961, MIT student Steve Russell created the first video game in history: Space War. Ray casting was first introduced in 1968, a class of ray-tracing based rendering algorithms. By modeling the path of light from the light source to the curved surface in the scene and into the camera, the algorithm becomes the basis for realizing the photorealistic effect in graphics.

Furthermore, in 1969, the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) established a Special Interest Group on Graphics (SIGGRAPH) to organize conferences, graphics standards, and publications in the field of computer graphics.

Raster Graphics: 1970s

The advent of MOS large-scale integration in the early 1970s was an important technical advance for practical computer graphics. In particular, the Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM) chip introduced in 1970 can store thousands of bits of data on a single high-density memory chip, making it possible to save the entire standard definition raster graphics image in the digital frame buffer. The first video-compatible, raster-based computer graphics system appeared in 1972.

In 1971, Gourand proposed the idea of “diffuse model + interpolation”, which is called Gourand shading. In 1975, Phong proposed a famous simple illumination model called Phong model. These models laid the foundation for colorization of computer graphics, transforming the graphics from a “flat” appearance to one that more accurately depicts depth.

Photorealistic Graphics: the 1980s

In the field of realistic graphics rendering, the LINKS-1 computer graphics system, a supercomputer, has been developed at Osaka University, Japan. In 1982, it used as many as 257 microprocessors for the purpose of rendering realistic 3D computer graphics.

The LINKS-1 system was developed to implement an image rendering approach in which each pixel can be independently processed in parallel using ray tracing. By developing new software methods dedicated to high-speed image rendering, LINKS-1 is able to quickly render highly realistic images.

The Explosion of Computer Graphics: 1990s to present

After the 1990s, with the popularity of personal computers and with rendering techniques and algorithms continuing to improve greatly, computer graphics has been fully applied. By the end of the century, computers adopted general-purpose graphics processing frameworks such as DirectX and OpenGL.

Since the beginning of the 21st century, GPU has continued to grow and become increasingly complex. 3D rendering has become a standard function, and 3D graphics GPU is considered to be a necessary equipment provided by desktop computer manufacturers. The application of computer graphics in the field of film and video games has launched a large number of representative works.

In recent years, non-photorealistic graphics, which uses cameras and computers instead of human eyes to recognize, track and measure objects, and simulates the human visual system with computational methods, has gained much attention. It can use computers to simulate various visual art drawing styles, and can also be used to develop new drawing styles.

Applications to computer graphics

Computer-Aided Design

Computer-aided Design (CAD) refers to the use of a Computer or workstation to assist in the creation, modification, analysis, or optimization of a design. CAD software is used to increase designer productivity and improve design quality. CAD output is usually in the form of electronic files for printing, machining, or other manufacturing operations.

CAD is an important industrial art, widely used in many fields, and because of its great economic importance, CAD has become a major driving force for research in computational geometry, computer graphics (hardware and software), and discrete differential geometry.

Digital art

Digital art is a work of art or practice that uses digital technology as part of the process of creation or presentation. Digital art can be purely computer generated works, such as fractal and algorithmic art, or it can be acquired from other sources, such as scanned photographs or images drawn on a drawing board using vector graphics software. Digital art consists of two-dimensional visual information displayed on an electronic display, which is mathematically converted into three-dimensional image information by perspective projection on the electronic display.

Scientific visualization

The purpose of scientific visualization is to graphically illustrate scientific data so that scientists can understand, illustrate, and gather information from the data. By studying how to assist people in reading and learning various types of knowledge, we can determine which types and features of visualizations are most easily and effectively understood in conveying information.

Graphic design

Graphic design can be applied to all visual communication applications, from road signs to technical sketches, from office memos to product reference manuals. Graphic design can help sell a product or idea and it applies to the products and elements of a company identity such as logo, colors, packaging, and text.

Graphic design can include data visualization, which involves the use of programs to interpret data and shape it into a visually appealing representation, and can be combined with information graphics.

Virtual reality

Virtual reality is a simulated experience that is similar or completely different from the real world. Current VR systems use virtual reality headsets or projected environments to generate realistic images, sounds, and other sensations that mimic what a user would actually feel in a virtual environment.

Your task

Please give an example of the application of computer graphics in real life and give your opinion.

Share your thoughts and ideas in the comments below.