Wavelets for Computer Graphics: Theory and Applications (The Morgan Kaufmann Series in Computer Graphics)

The term wavelet was coined in 1940 by a scientist observing the disturbances emanating from seismic events and explosive charges. Today, the term denotes the actual mathematical function that was originally used to model these disturbances, and many scientists working in signal processing, physics, and other areas use wavelets to represent and analyze large amounts of data. Wavelets for Computer Graphics: Theory and Applications is a well-written, thoroughly researched book that provides a solid introduction to wavelet theory and the burgeoning field of its applications in computer graphics. The authors target computer-graphics professionals and researchers, particularly those who know the rudiments of linear algebra and are relatively new to wavelet theory. The authors explain the algebraic formulae for, and methodology behind, using wavelets to enhance and edit images. They discuss different types of wavelets-- such as Haar wavelets and biorthogonal wavelets for surfaces--and explain how to apply wavelets to image compression, editing, and querying; curves and tiling; surface-area editing and compression; and the physical simulation methods of variational modeling and global illumination. Each section of the book combines theory, mathematics, and real-world examples showing how to apply wavelets to specific graphics. Appendices review the basics of linear algebra and B-spline wavelet matrices.