Computer Graphics and Visualization

COURSE CODE: COM 412

COURSE TITLE: COMPUTER GRAPHICS AND VISUALIZATION
LEVEL: 400 LEVEL
Graphics Application and raster graphics
1. Introduction to Computer Graphics
2. Application of Computer Graphics
3. Video Display Devices
4. Raster Scan Displays
5. Random Scan Displays
6. Color CRT Monitor
7. Shadow Mask Methods

Computer Graphics
Computer graphics is the art of drawing pictures, lines, charts, etc using computers
with the help of programming. Computer graphics is made up of several pixels.
Pixel is the smallest graphical picture or unit represented on the computer screen.
The computer has become a powerful tool for the rapid and economical production
of pictures. There is virtually no area in which graphical displays are not is used to
some advantage. Today computer graphics is used delusively in such areas as
science, medicine, engineering, etc.
Application of computer graphics:
(1) Computer-Aided Design: Generally used in the design of buildings,
automobiles, aircrafts, textiles and many other products.
(2) Presentation Graphics: This is used to produce illustration for or to
generate 35-cm slides or trans pare miss for use with projectors.
(3) Computer Art: Computer graphics methods are widely used in both
fine arts and Commercial Arts Applications.
(4) Entertainment: Computer graphics methods are now commonly used
in making motion pictures, music videos, television shows.
(5) Education and Training: Computer generated models of physical,
financial, and economic systems are after used as education aids.
(6) Visualization: This is used in connation with data sets related to
commerce, industry and other scientific areas.
(7) Image Processing: It applies techniques to modify or inter put
existing pictures such as photographs.
(8) Graphical user Interface: It is common now for software packages to
provide a graphical Interface
There are two types of Graphics
Interactive and Passive Graphics
(a) Non-Interactive or Passive Computer Graphics:
In non-interactive computer graphics, the picture is produced on the monitor, and
the user does not have any controlled over the image, i.e., the user cannot make
any change in the rendered image. One example of its Titles shown on T.V.

Non-interactive Graphics involves only one-way communication between the

computer and the user, User can see the produced image, and he cannot make any
change in the image.

(b) Interactive Computer Graphics:

In interactive Computer Graphics user have some controls over the picture, i.e., the
user can make any change in the produced image. Example of it is game, Temple
Run, Car Race etc

Interactive Computer Graphics require two-way communication between the

computer and the user. A User can see the image and make any change by sending
his command with an input device.
Working of an Interactive Graphics Display
Interactive graphics display consists of three components
a) A display controller
b) A digital memory or frame buffer
c) A television monitor
d) A video controller
The display controller gets the inputs and commands from the user and determines
the image to be displayed on the monitor. The display controller will divide the
image into a number of pixels. This image which is to be displayed is stored in the
frame buffer. The image will be stored as a matrix of intensity values.
The image will be displayed onto the television monitor and the video controller
will act as a simple interface that passes the contents of the frame buffer to the
monitor. The image must be repeatedly passed to the monitor, 30 or more times a
second. This helps you to maintain a steady picture on the screen.
In the frame buffer the image is stored as a pattern of binary digital numbers. These
binary digital numbers represent a rectangular array of picture elements or pixels (a
picture can be divided into a number of picture elements or pixels. You will learn
more about pixels in the coming lectures.).
So corresponding to each pixel you have a binary digital number in the frame buffer.
If your image is a black and white image you can represent the black pixels by 0 s
and white pixels by 1s. Therefore a 16 X 16 array of black and white pixels could
be represented by the binary values stored in the 32 8-bit bytes. Now what happens
to this data?
The video controller simply reads each successive byte of data from the frame
buffer and converts its 0s and 1s into the corresponding video signal. This signal is
then fed into the TV monitor, producing a black and white pattern on the screen.
The video controller repeats this operation 30 times a second in order to maintain a
steady picture on the TV screen.
Now what should be done to change or modify this image?
All we need is to modify the frame buffers contents. Set the frame buffer with a
new set of values so that it represents the new image. In this way we can achieve
effects like a rotating wheel and a wheel that grows and shrinks.
The modern graphics display is very simple in construction. It consists of three
components:

1. Frame Buffer or Digital Memory

2. A Monitor likes a home T.V. set without the tuning and receiving electronics.
3. Display Controller or Video Controller: It passes the contents of the frame
buffer to the monitor.

Frame Buffer: A digital frame buffer is large, contiguous piece of computer

memory used to hold or map the image displayed on the screen.
 o At a minimum, there is 1 memory bit for each pixel in the raster. This amount
of memory is called a bit plane.
o A 1024 x 1024 element requires 220 (210=1024;220=1024 x 1024)sq.raster or
1,048,576 memory bits in a single bit plane.
o The picture is built up in the frame buffer one bit at a time.
o ∵ A memory bit has only two states (binary 0 or 1), a single bit plane yields a
black and white (monochrome display).
o As frame buffer is a digital device write raster CRT is an analog device.

Properties of Video Monitor:

1. Persistence: Persistence is the duration of phosphorescence. Different kinds of

phosphors are available for use in CRT. Besides color, a major difference between
phosphor in their persistence how they continue to emit light after the electron beam
is removed.

2. Resolution: Use to describe the number of pixels that are used on display image.

3. Aspect Ratio: It is the ratio of width to its height. Its measure is unit in length or
number of pixels.

Aspect Ratio =

Video Display Devices

Video display device means an electronic device with an output surface that
displays or is capable of displaying moving graphical images or visual
representations of images sequences or pictures that show a number of quickly
changing images on a screen to create the illusion of motion.
A “video display device” may use a cathode-ray tube (CRT), liquid crystal display
(LCD), gas plasma, digital light processing, other image projection technology or
imaging display technologies.
A gas-plasma display is a technology that is a collection of neon gas between two
plates. Each plate contains a conductive print; one is horizontal, and the other is
vertical.
Although gas-plasma technology was found in older portable computers and large
displays, like the CRT television, it is now obsolete. Today, because of advances in
LCD technologies and the power requirements of gas-plasma displays, nearly all
flat-panel screens are LED backlit LCDs.

illustrates the basic operation of a CRT

Here electron beam is emitted by the electron gun in a CRT. It passes through a
focusing and deflection system that directs the beam towards a specified position
on the phosphor-coated system.
The light emitted by the phosphor fades very rapidly.
To maintain the screen picture or to keep the phosphor is to redraw the picture
repeatedly by quickly directing the electron beam over the same point. This
process is called refresh CRT.

Heat is supplied to the cathode by directing a current through a coil of

wire called filament, inside the cylindrical cathode structure this heats
up the electrons & the heated-up electrons move with high positive
voltage towards the phosphor screen.

What is a pixel in Computer Graphics

A pixel (short for picture element, using the common abbreviation “pix” for
“picture”) is one of the many tiny dots that make up the representation of a picture
in a computer’s memory. Each such information element is not really a dot, nor a
square, but an abstract sample.
With care, pixels in an image can be reproduced at any size without the appearance
of visible dots or squares; but in many contexts, they are reproduced as dots or
squares and can be visibly distinct when not fine enough. The intensity of each
pixel is variable; in color systems, each pixel has typically three or four dimensions
of variability such as red, green and blue, or cyan, magenta, yellow and black.
The term resolution is often used as a pixel count in digital imaging,
But when the pixel counts are referred to as resolution, the convention is to
describe the pixel resolution with the set of two positive integer numbers, where
the first number is the number of pixel columns (width) and the second is the
number of pixel rows (height), for example as 640 by 480.
Another popular convention is to cite resolution as the total number of pixels in the
image, typically given as number of mega pixels, which can be calculated by
multiplying pixel columns by pixel rows and dividing by one million.
Below is an illustration of how the same image might appear at different pixel
resolutions, if the pixels were poorly rendered as sharp squares (normally, a smooth
image reconstruction from pixels would be preferred, but for illustration of pixels,
the sharp squares make the point better).

Resolution in various media

DVDs have roughly 500 lines (or TV lines, or lines per picture height).
High-definition television has 1,080 lines.
35mm movie film is scanned for release on DVD at 1080 or 2000 lines as of 2005.
What does it mean if a film is 35mm?
What Is 35mm Film? In photography, 35-millimeter (35mm) film is a small-
format photographic film used in single-lens reflex cameras (SLRs), film
cameras, rangefinders, and disposable cameras. The number 35 refers to the
total width of the film, including its perforated edges.

35mm optical camera negative motion picture film can resolve up to 6,000 lines.
35mm projection positive motion picture film has about 2,000 lines which results
from the analogue printing from the camera negative of an inter positive, and
possibly an inter negative, then a projection positive.
Newer films are scanned at 4,000 lines, called 4K scanning, anticipating any
advances in digital projection or higher resolution in flat panel display.

Raster–Scan Displays and Random Scan Displays.

Raster–Scan Displays: The most common type of graphics monitor employing a
CRT is the raster-scan display, based on television technology. In a rater-scan
system, the electron beam is swept across the screen, one row at a time from top to
bottom.
As the electron beam moves across each row, the beam intensity is turned on and
off to create a pattern of illuminated spots. Picture definition is stored in a memory
area called the refresh buffer or frame buffer.
This memory area holds the set of intensity values for all the screen points.
Stored intensity values are then retrieved from the refresh buffer and “Painted” on
the screen one row (scan line) at a time.

Random Scan Displays

When operated as a random-scan display unit, a CRT has the electron beam
directed only to the parts of the screen where a picture is to be drawn. Random-
scan monitor draw a picture one line at a time and for this reason are also referred
to as vector displays (or strokewriting of calligraphic displays). The component
lines of a picture can be drawn and refreshed by a random-scan system in any
specified order.
Random-scan systems are designed for line-drawing applications and can’ not
display realistic shaded scenes. Since picture definition is stored as a set of line-
drawing instruction and not as a set of intensity values for all screen points, vector
displays generally have higher resolution then raster system.
Also, vector displays produce smooth line drawings because the CRT beam
directly follows the line path. A raster system, in contrast, produces jagged lines
that are plotted as discrete point sets

Color CRT Monitor

A CRT monitor displays color picture by using a combination of phosphor that
emit different-colored light. By combining the emitted light from the different
phosphor, a range of colors can be generated. The two basic techniques for
producing color displays with a CRT are the beam-penetration method and the
shadow-mask method.
The beam-penetration method for displaying color pictures has been used with
random-scan monitors. Two layers of phosphor, usually red and green, are coated
onto the inside of the CRT screen, and the displayed color depends on how far the
electron beam penetrates into the phosphor layers.
A beam of slow electrons excites only the outer red layer.
A beam of very fast electron penetrates through the red layer and excites the inner
green layer. At intermediate beam speeds, combinations of red and green light are
emitted to show two additional colors, orange and yellow. The speed of the
electrons, and hence the screen color at any point, is controlled by the beam
acceleration voltage. Beam penetration has been an inexpensive way to produce
color in random-scan monitor, but only four colors are possible, and the quality of
picture is not as good as with other methods.
Shadow-mask methods are commonly used in raster-scan system (including color
TV) because they produce a much wider range of colors than the beam penetration
method. A shadow-mask CRT has three phosphor color dots at each pixel position.
One phosphor dot emits a red light, another emits a green light, and the third emits
a blue light. This type of CRT has three electron guns, one for each color dot, and a
shadow-mask grid just behind the phosphor-coated screen. Figure 2-10 illustrates
the delta-delta shadow-mask method, commonly used in color CRT system. The
three beams are deflected and focused as a group onto the shadow mask, which
contains a series of holes aligned with the phosphor-dot patterns.
When the three beams pass through a hole in the shadow mask, they activate a dot
triangle, which appears as a small color spot on the screen. The phosphor dots in
the triangles are arranged so that each electron beam can activate only its
corresponding color dot when it passes through the shadow mask. Another
configuration for the three electron guns is an in-line arrangement in which the
three electron guns, and the corresponding red-green-blue color dots on the screen,
are aligned along one scan line instead of in a triangular pattern. This in-line
arrangement of electron guns is easier to keep in alignment and is commonly used
in high-resolution color CRTs

We obtain color variations in a shadow-mask CRT by varying the intensity levels

of the three electron beams. By turning off the red and green guns, we get only the
color coming from the blue phosphor. Other combinations of beam intensities
produce a small light spot for each pixel position, since our eyes tend to merge the
three colors into one composite. The color we see depends on the amount of
excitation of the red, green, and blue phosphors. A white (or gray) area is the result
of activating all three dots with equal intensity. Yellow is produced with the green
and red dots only, magenta is produced with the blue and red dots, any cyan shows
up when blue and green are activated equally. In some low-cost systems, the
electron beam can only be set to on or off, limiting displays to eight colors. More
sophisticated systems can set intermediate intensity level for the electron beam,
allowing several million different colors to be generated.

Differentiate between Raster Scan and Random Scan Display

S.No. Raster Scan Random Scan
1. In this, the electron beam is swept across the screen, one row at a
swept across the screen, one time from top to bottom.
row at a time from top to In this, the electron beam is directed
bottom. only to the parts of the screen where a
picture is to be drown
2. The pattern is created by Here a picture is drawn one line at a
illuminated spots. time
 3. Refreshing on Raster Scan Refresh cycle is displayed to avoid
display is carried out at the rate refresh rate greater than 60 frames per
of 60 to 80 frames per second second for small set of lines. Refresh
rate depends on number of lines to be
displayed.
4. This display porous produces In this display it produces jagged lines
smooth line drawings as the that are potted as discrete point sets.
CRT beam directly follows the
line path.
5. This provides higher resolution This provides lower resolution

Introduction to hand writing and character recognition.

Handwriting recognition
Handwriting recognition (HWR), also known as handwriting text recognition
(HTR), is the ability of a computer to receive and interpret intelligible handwriting
input from sources such as paper documents, photographs, touch screens, and other
devices.
An image of written text can be detected "offline" from paper by optical scanning
(optical character recognition) or intelligent word recognition. Alternatively, the
movements of the tip of the pen can be detected “in sequence”, for example by the
surface of the computer screen of the pen, which is generally an easier task because
more clues are available. The handwriting recognition system processes
formatting, performs correct character segmentation, and finds the most likely
words.
Character recognition
OCR (optical character recognition) is the use of technology to distinguish printed
or handwritten text characters inside digital images of physical documents, such as
a scanned paper document. The basic process of OCR involves examining the text
of a document and translating the characters into code that can be used for data
processing. OCR is sometimes also referred to as text recognition.
OCR systems are made up of a combination of hardware and software that is used
to convert physical documents into machine-readable text. Hardware, such as an
optical scanner or specialized circuit board is used to copy or read text while
software typically handles the advanced processing. Software can also take
advantage of artificial intelligence (AI) to implement more advanced methods of
intelligent character recognition (ICR), like identifying languages or styles of
handwriting.

The process of OCR is most commonly used to turn hard copy legal or historic
documents into PDFs. Once placed in this soft copy, users can edit, format and
search the document as if it was created with a