Patent ID: 7436405
Filing Date: 2008-10-14
Classification: G06T

Abstract:
1. A computer implemented method of providing varying levels of detail in terrain rendering, the method comprising: providing representations of plural levels of detail of a terrain, where each level represents a regular grid; determining a viewpoint of a viewer; caching a terrain view in a set of nested regular grids obtained from the plural levels as a function of distance from the viewpoint, each regular grid having a two-dimensional array of vertices, the number of vertices in each dimension of size n; determining transition regions as of boundary grids within each of the nested regular grids, the transition regions width w determined by the equation w=min(n/10, min_width) and wherein min_width>=2; rendering the set of nested regular grids; and incrementally refilling the set of nested regular grids as the viewpoint moves relative to the terrain; wherein vertices of a regular grid comprise x, y, z, and z and wherein the transition morphing is calculated in a graphical processing unit via a vertex shader.