Final Summary Report, J.D.A.David
June, 1st 1995
Title:Interactive Image Synthesis and Processing on Innovative Computer Architectures
Contract Number

ERB-CHRX-CT93-0088

Contractual Period

20 September 1993 - 19 March 1995

Coordinator

Jacques DAVID/Pierre-Henri CROS, CERFACS, FR
tel +33 61 19 30 05 (or +33 1 45 95 62 89)
fax +33 61 19 30 30 (or +33 1 43 86 74 11)

Other Participants (scientific officer)

Roger HUBBOLD, University of Manchester, GB (coded UMAN in following)
Juan J.ANZA, LABEIN, BILBAO, ES (coded LABEIN)
Didier ARQUES, University of Franche-Comte, FR (coded UFC)
Daniele MARINI, University of Milan, IT (coded UMIL)
David BOYD, Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, GB (coded RAL)
Jean-Pierre MADIER, CRIL/INFOROP,Toulouse, FR (coded CRIL)
Jean-Claude GROSSETIE, JRC, ISPRA, EEC (coded JRC)
Ralf GRUBER, CSCS, Manno, CH (coded CSCS)

Objectives of the Network:

The main objective was to develop a common understanding of the problems of image data analysis and manipulation, to exchange software tools, expertise, and to experiment with each other's approach and methods on different hardware platforms including parallel computers, in application domains such as computational fluid mechanics, weather forecasting, satellite and medical image processing, visualising complex 3D CAD models, molecular modeling,synthesis of holograms. To develop such common base, has been established that cover technical knowledge in the fields of 2D and 3D imaging and the use of parallel computer systems , targeted to industrial companies as well as scientific laboratories.

Network methodology has been to organize activity in three Working Groups (WG) with the following themes:

Working Group on Scientific Visualisation (WG-SV)

objectives: distributed visualisation, 3D/volume rendering, graphical and object-oriented user interfaces
members: CERFACS, UMAN, LABEIN, RAL, CSCS.

Working Group on Image Synthesis (WG-IS)

objectives: parallel algorithms for image synthesis with ray tracing and radiosity
members: UMAN, UFC, UMIL, JRC.

Working Group on Image Manipulation (WG-IM)

objectives: algorithms and experience exchange in image processing, image compression, remote sensing
members: CSCS, UMIL, RAL, CRIL, JRC.

Each Working Group has been coordinated by the first member in the list. Some cross-over activities resulted due to partial overlap of the themes.

Roles of the Participating Teams:

CERFACS (also acting coordinator for contract with the Commission) has been participating mainly in Scientific Visualisation and user interface, and following other subgroup activities such as compression and wavelets, object-oriented paradigms and user interfaces.

UMAN has been providing techniques and software to enable distributed image synthesis (distributed rendering protocol - DRP), and assistance with implementation of parallel software codes, especially on the KSR1 computer, with provision of parallel ray tracing (KRT)and volume rendering (KVR) codes for comparisons.

LABEIN has been working upon scientific visualisation and user interface, in CAD/CAM, metal forming and fluid dynamics applications areas, exchanging experience and data with other partners.

UFC has contributed software for 3D modelling (SMILE) and realistic rendering (ray tracing and radiosity codes), and designing criteria for evaluation and comparison of this software with that developed by the other teams.

UMIL has been providing know-how and software tools for volume visualisation (X-EVA) and fractal image compression, running on parallel computers and integrating them in state of the art software (CRIL's VINCI).

RAL has expertise in scientific visualisation, image processing and satellite imaging, and has been collaborating with other labs to tests compression and imaging methods upon its working remote-sensing data (ERS-1/ATSR) and validating implementations of algorithms and results.

CRIL is an industrial company in teledetection, image processing and hardware platforms market. Working with other partners, its aims to propose, implement and validate image processing, tranqsforms and compressions algorithms in its commercial grade software, VINCI, to be made available to partners for a one-year period.

JRC implemented various fast transform algorithms that are widely used and known in image synthesis and analysis.to be integrated in VINCI; also wavelet and fractal techniques have been studied and implemented.

CSCS has expertise in and developed tools for scientific visualisation (MOLEKEL package) and remote visualization (MET++ extensions), image compression techniques (UNDINE), and remote-sensing techniques. Specifically the compression algorithm has been distributed to and used by several partners to accomplish their objectives (integration in VINCI, applied on ATSR satellite images).

Results and Achievements:

Visualization of Complex Numerical Simulations
Activities in this field were related to exploration of new visualization techniques for CFD and for metal forming simulations, evaluation and application of industrial tools. Several visits by LABEIN to Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, University of Manchester and CSCS have contributed to a common understanding of the current state of the art in advanced visualization tools as well as to improve visualization and animation of current CAE systems for CFD and FEM simulation.
The molecular graphics package MOLEKEL have been enhanced with an X/Motif compliant graphical user interface, and the rendering tasks have been ported to OpenInventor. An input generation tool for Gaussian-92 (a computational chemistry package), has been developed to allow scientists to launch and post-process a numerical calculation from the same program
Comparison of industrial GUI-builders and evaluation of own-developed builder tool were made, and similar work is ongoing for public-domain tools.Virtual Reality became of significant interest to several partners (RAL, LABEIN, UMAN), with visits to partners and others laboratories. Potential applications include aerospace design, large scale CAD, and numerical simulation results visualisation.
Image synthesis
SMILE modeling language (3D modeler developed at UFC) has been distributed to partners and ported to KSR1 (UMAN), then used to compare rendering algorithms and parallel architectures. Ray tracers (UFC, UMIL) have been ported, parallelised and compared on different architecture (KSR, CS1). Radiosity techniques have been developed. UMIL X-EVA volume renderer have been ported to different architectures (KSR) and interfaced to distributed rendering protocol tools developed at UMAN.
Image manipulation
A new image compression algorithm UNDINE has been developed by CSCS, achieving much higher compression ratios than JPEG. It has been integrated into CRIL's VINCI image processing software and tested at RAL on remote sensing images (ERS-1/ATSR); better understanding of the requirements of earth observation applications have been gained. Other activities in remote sensing include new techniques for Remote Sensing image analysis, report on analysis of multiresolution stochastic processes, and a remote visualization tool based on video (CSCS, Uni Zurich).
The volume visualisation tool X-EVA developed and further enhanced by UMIL has been parallelized at CSCS resulting in a high-level algorithms library (that also includes a color correction and the fractal image compression algorithm). The fractal image compression algorithm has been integrated in VINCI by CRIL.
Various fast transform algorithms (by JRC) have been integrated in VINCI. Wavelet and fractal techniques have been studied and implemented, with compression factors of over 100 in many cases. A comprehensive techical report on wavelets has been written (JRC, CSCS).

Training:

CERFACS has run small courses under the RECITE programme. RAL has run a programme of seminars under the auspices of the UK Visualization Community Club (VCC). Although these activities are not funded by the HCM Network, they have benefited from it (e.g. speaker funding Daniele Marini (UMIL) at the VCC). CSCS has organized a tutorial at a conference and given a course and a lecture on wavelets. Partners exchanged young researchers: UFC sent four young researchers for 3 weeks to UMAN and JRC. Four researchers from UMIL spent several weeks at Manchester and at CSCS. RAL sent a researcher to UMAN and CSCS for 10 days. LABEIN sent two researchers to RAL for 5 days and one to CSCS. CSCS sent one researcher to LABEIN and one to CRIL. Presentations were also done at different Summer schools and Conferences (eg EPS-APS). A final meeting in Manno has enable to disseminate a global view of all themes activities to the whole of members of the network.

Number of joint/individual publication/patents:

38 total publications including 1 joint

Keywords:

Image Synthesis, Parallel Computers, Visualisation, 3D Rendering, Transforms, Image compression

Final Summary Report, J.D.A.David June, 1st 1995 Title:Interactive Image Synthesis and Processing on Innovative Computer Architectures Contract Number