We present a method for estimating the location of edges in binary images, in order to correct the distance produced by distance transforms to sub-pixel precision. We also show that the resulting precision significantly outper- forms the precision of an uncorrected Euclidean Distance Transform.

This book is a broad introduction to GPU computing, covering several different technologies for programming GPUs for general purpose computing, including CUDA, OpenCL, Compute Shaders and more.

Groups of agents in multi-agent systems may have to cooperate to solve tasks efficiently, and coordinating such groups is an important problem in the field of artificial intelligence. In this paper, we consider the problem of forming disjoint coalitions and assigning them to independent tasks simultaneously, and present an anytime algorithm that efficiently solves the simultaneous coalition structure generation and task assignment problem. This NP-complete combinatorial optimization problem has many real-world applications, including forming cross-functional teams aimed at solving tasks. To evaluate the algorithm's performance, we extend established methods for synthetic problem set generation, and benchmark the algorithm using randomized data sets of varying distribution and complexity. Our results show that the presented algorithm efficiently finds optimal solutions, and generates high quality solutions when interrupted prior to finishing an exhaustive search. Additionally, we apply the algorithm to solve the problem of assigning agents to regions in a commercial computer-based strategy game, and empirically show that our algorithm can significantly improve the coordination and computational efficiency of agents in a real-time multi-agent system.

This book covers a wide range of subjects that didn’t fit in the first volume. You will find more advanced computer graphics topics, but we also widen the scope to physics, networking and AI, thereby making this a book on interesting topics useful in game programming and similar tasks.

The book uses OpenGL 3.2 and up, that is modern OpenGL.

The topics that are covered include

• Stencil buffer
• Frame Buffer Objects
• Texture compression
• Planar shadows, shadow maps and shadow volumes
• mbient occlusion including screen-space ambient occlusion
• Bump mapping with extensions (Parallax mapping, Displacement mapping)
• Geometry shaders
• General-purpose GPU programming (GPGPU) with shaders and CUDA
• 3D display
• Rigid body dynamics
• Quaternions
• Integration methods
• Body animation, skinning
• Deformable models
• Networking
• Game AI

This book is not about the most advanced topics of computer graphics. It does not stop at the mere basics, but a range of advanced topics (advanced shaders, shadows, game physics) are covered by volume 2.

The topics that are covered include

• 2D and 3D transformations
• 3D viewing • Light models and shading
• Visible surface detection
• Surface detail (texture mapping etc)
• Collision detection and handling
• Large world management (high level VSD, LOD, scene graphs)
• Shader programming (GLSL)
• Ray-tracing and radiosity
• Low-level algorithms (Bresenham, flood fill, scan conversion)
• Anti-aliasing

OpenGL 3.2 is used for real-life examples, but this is not an OpenGL book, it is a computer graphics book. For learning OpenGL as such, there are other books.

This paper presents new radix-2 and radix-22 constant geometry fast Fourier transform (FFT) algorithms for graphics processing units (GPUs). The algorithms combine the use of constant geometry with special scheduling of operations and distribution among the cores. Performance tests on current GPUs show a significant improvements compared to the most recent version of NVIDIA’s well-known CUFFT, achieving speedups of up to 5.6x.

The ePUMA architecture is a novel parallel archi- tecture being developed as a platform for low-power computing, typically for embedded or hand-held devices. It was originally designed for radio baseband processors for hand-held devices and for radio base stations. It has also been adapted for executing high definition video CODECs. In this paper, we investigate the possibilities and limitations of the platform for real-time graphics, with focus on hand-held gaming.

In this paper we present a solution for the three dimensional representation of mobile computer games which includes both motion parallax and an autostereoscopic display. The system was built on hardware which is available on the consumer market: an iPhone 3G with a Wazabee 3Dee Shell, which is an autostereoscopic extension for the iPhone. The motion sensor of the phone was used for the implementation of the motion parallax effect as well as for a tilt compensation for the autostereoscopic display. This system was evaluated in a limited user study on mobile 3D displays. Despite some obstacles that needed to be overcome and a few remaining shortcomings of the final system, an overall acceptable 3D experience could be reached. That leads to the conclusion that portable systems for the consumer market which include 3D displays are within reach.

The ePUMA architecture is a novel parallel architecture being developed as a platform for low-power computing, typically for embedded or hand-held devices. As part of the exploration of the platform, we have implemented the Euclidean Distance Transform. We outline the ePUMA architecture and describe how the algorithm was implemented.

More embedded systems gain increasing multimedia capabilities, including computer graphics. Although this is mainly due to their increasing computational capability, optimizations of algorithms and data structures are important as well, since these systems have to fulfill a variety of constraints and cannot be geared solely towards performance. In this paper, the two most popular texture compression methods (DXT1 and PVRTC) are compared in both image quality and decoding performance aspects. For this, both have been ported to the ePUMA platform which is used as an example of energy consumption optimized embedded systems. Furthermore, a new DXT1 encoder has been developed which reaches higher image quality than existing encoders.