The architecture of the picture system

THE PICTURE SYSTEM is a self-contained, stand-alone line drawing system for presenting dynamically moving pictures of two- or three-dimensional objects. This highly interactive system can display smoothly changing true perspective views of 3-D objects in real time. Objects can be rotating, translating, and changing in scale. Individual sub-objects can assume independent or compound motion. Lines or parts of lines outside the chosen viewing window are clipped. All these transformations are performed digitally to avoid inaccuracy and range limitations.In order to perform these calculations fast enough to show smooth motion, support high-level interaction, and also sustain flicker-free pictures of 11000 line segments or more, a new graphics system architecture has been developed. This paper will present each of the hardware components of the system and discuss what each contributes to the production of pictures.THE PICTURE SYSTEM represents a significant new graphics system architecture in several respects. This paper will describe the system including data flow, the functions of each major component, and some of the advantages that accrue from the approaches taken.