Applications area of Computer Graphics
Computer graphics started with the display of data or hard copy plotter and CRT screens had grown include the creation, storage and manipulation of mode is of images of objects.
We find computer graphics used in a diverse areas as science, engineering , medicine business, industry, government, art, entertainment ,education and others.
COMPUTER AIDED DESING (CAD):
A major use of computer graphics is in design processes, particularly for engineering and architectural systems, but almost all products are now computer designed.
Generally referred to as CAD, computer-aided design methods are now routinely used in the design of buildings, automobiles, aircraft, watercraft, spacecraft, computers, textiles, and many, many other products.
In CAD, interactive graphics is used to design components and systems of mechanical, electrical, electromechanical and electronic devices including structures such as buildings, automobile bodies, airplane, VLSI chips, optical systems and telephone and computer networks.
The emphasis is on interacting with a computer-based model of the component or system being designed in orders to test, for example its structural, electrical or thermal properties.
The model is interpreted by a simulator that feeds back the behaviour of system to the user for further interactive design and test cycles. Some mechanical parts are manufactured by describing how the surfaces are to be formed with machine tools.
Numerically controlled machine tools are then set up to manufacture the parts according to these construction layouts.
PRESENTATION GRAPHICS:
Another major application areas of computer graphics is the “Presentation Graphics”. Presentation Graphics are used to provide illustrations for reports or to generate transparencies for use with graphics.
Presentation Graphics is commonly used to summarize financial, statistical, mathematical, scientific and economic data for research reports, managerial reports and other types of reports.
Typical examples are bar charts, line graphs, surface graphs, pie charts and other displays showing relationship between multiple variables.
The 3D graphics are usually used simply for effects; they can provide a more diagrammatic or more attractive presentation of data relationship. Various representative of presentation graphics are:
Presentation Graphics
To produce illustrations which summarize various kinds of data. Except 2D, 3D graphics are good tools for reporting more complex data.
Computer Art
Painting packages are available. With cordless, pressure-sensitive stylus, artists can produce electronic paintings which simulate different brush strokes, brush widths, and colours.
Photorealistic techniques, morphing and animations are very useful in commercial art. For films, 24 frames per second are required. For video monitor, 30 frames per second are required.
Education and training:
Computer graphics is used in education and training for making it more effective and more illustrative. E.g. if a teacher is to teach bonding of molecules or electron jump from higher energy state to lower energy state or the structure of gene, then he can demonstrate these concepts using computer graphics software or presentations.
Another example could be taken for surgery. A student can learn surgery using data gloves and realistic computer graphics. The cost of education as well as risk of human life is reduced.
Other examples could be flight simulator and driving simulator for pilot and driving training. Models of physical systems, physiological systems, population trends or equipments such as the color coded diagram also help trainees to understand the operation of the system.
Entertainment:
Computer graphics methods are now commonly used in making motion pictures, music videos and TV shows. Images are drawn in wire-frame form and will be shaded with rendering methods to produce solid surfaces.
Music videos use graphics in several ways. Graphics objects can be combined with the line action.
Computer graphics are also used to introduce virtual characters to movies like character in “Ice Age”,"Avatar”.
Visualization:
Scientists, engineers, medical personnel, business analysts, and others often need to analyse large amounts of information or to study the behaviour of certain processes.
Numerical simulations carried out on supercomputers frequently produce data files containing thousands and even millions of data values. Similarly, satellite cameras and other sources are amassing large data files faster than they can be interpreted.
Scanning these large sets of number to determine trends and relationships is a tedious and ineffective process. But if the data are converted to a visual form, the trends and patterns are often immediately apparent.
Some methods generate very large amount of data/information for example a survey of one million people’s choice for using different toothpaste generates large amount of data.
Analysing the property of the whole amount of data is difficult. Therefore to visualize large amount of information, graphical computer systems are used.
Image Processing:
Image processing applies techniques to modify or interpret existing pictures, such as photographs and TV scans.
Two principal applications of image processing are (1) improving picture quality and (2) machine perception of visual information, as used in robotics.
Image can be created using simple point program or can be fed into computer by scanning the image. These picture/ images need to be changed to improve the quality.
For image/pattern recognition systems, images need to be changed in specified format so that the system can recognize the meaning of the picture.
For example scanners with OCR features must have letters similar to standard font set. Medical applications also make extensive use of image processing techniques for picture enhancements, in tomography and in simulations of operations.
Graphical user Interface:
It is common now for software packages to provide a graphical interface. GUIs have become key factors for the success of the software or operating system.
A major component of a graphical interface is a window manager that allows a user to display multiple-window areas. Each window can contain a different process that can contain graphical or non-graphical displays.
To make a particular window active, we simply click in that window using an interactive pointing device. Interfaces also display menus and icons for fast selection of processing options or parameter values.
An icon is a graphical symbol that is designed to look like the processing option it represents.
The advantages of icons are that they take up less screen space than corresponding textual descriptions and they can be understood more quickly if well designed. Menus contain lists of textual descriptions and icons.
3D GUI uses graphical objects called gizmos to represent certain objects or process involved in human computer communication for virtual purpose. Lots of aesthetics (colors) and psychological analysis have been done to create user friendly GUI.
The most popular GUI is windows based GUI.