| Instructor: | Cem Yuksel |
|---|---|
| Time: | Tuesday & Thursday @ 3:40pm - 5:00pm |
| Location: | WEB 1230 |
| TAs: |
Jerry Hsu Yura Hwang |
Overview
This course covers the fundamental concepts of interactive (and real-time) rendering. The topics covered in this course are directly related to any application domain that displays 3D information, ranging from video games to interactive visualization. This is a project-heavy course with multiple programming assignments.
Interactive rendering often relies on the GPU hardware to perform most of the rendering-related tasks. Therefore, this course will cover topics related to GPU programming for interactive rendering. The examples that will be covered in this course will use the OpenGL API and the OpenGL Shading Language (GLSL), but students are permitted to use other fundamental graphics API, like Direct3D or Vulkan, for their projects.
The Canvas page for the course will be primarily used for project submissions, announcements, and online discussions.
Course Objectives
The main objective of this course is to introduce students the fundamental concepts of interactive rendering in computer graphics. The lectures in this course teach the programming concepts for the GPU rendering pipeline and present a multitude of techniques for using this pipeline to interactive rendering and visualization. The course aims to help the students obtain the necessary knowledge and skills for developing interactive graphics applications for various tasks.
Given a 2D or 3D virtual scene representation, students will be able to develop interactive applications that can display the given scene with proper shading, textures, lighting, and shadows; write GPU shaders that can perform tessellation and geometry modifications; and implement algorithms for handling reflections and visibility computations.
Learning Outcomes
Upon conclusion of this course, students will be familiar with the GPU rendering pipeline and advanced rendering techniques used in interactive graphics applications. Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:
• Describe the stages of the interactive graphics rendering pipeline,
• Effectively use graphics APIs, such as OpenGL and GLSL,
• Write complex GPU shaders,
• Perform lighting and shading computations,
• Compute interactive shadows,
• Evaluate or approximate interactive reflections,
• Program tessellation and geometry shaders,
• Implement modern interactive rendering techniques.
Lectures
This course will use the flipped classroom model. All lectures of this course will be presented as pre-recorded online videos. The classroom meetings will be reserved for discussions on the topics presented in the related lecture videos. Students are expected to watch the related lecture video before class time. See the following schedule for details.
Textbook
This course will not follow a textbook. Students, who would like to improve their background knowledge on fundamentals of computer graphics, can refer to the textbook for CS 4600 (Introduction to Computer Graphics).
| Week | Date | Topic | Project Deadlines |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jan 11 | Introduction | |
| Jan 13 | Images and Transformations | ||
| 2 | Jan 18 | Rendering Algorithms | |
| Jan 20 | Windowing APIs | ||
| 3 | Jan 25 | Introduction to Modern OpenGL | Project 1 deadline - Hello World |
| Jan 27 | Introduction to GLSL & OpenGL Extensions | ||
| 4 | Feb 1 | Triangular Meshes | Project 2 deadline - Transformations |
| Feb 3 | Lights and Shading | ||
| 5 | Feb 8 | Textures | Project 3 deadline - Shading |
| Feb 10 | Textures on the GPU | ||
| 6 | Feb 15 | Render to Texture | Project 4 deadline - Textures |
| Feb 17 | The Rendering Equation | ||
| 7 | Feb 22 | Environment Mapping | Project 5 deadline - Render Buffers |
| Feb 24 | Reflections | ||
| 8 | Mar 1 | Lights & Shadows | Project 6 deadline - Environment Mapping |
| Mar 3 | Shadow Mapping | ||
| 9 | Mar 8 | — Spring Break — | |
| Mar 10 | — Spring Break — | ||
| 10 | Mar 15 | Geometry Shaders | Project 7 deadline - Shadow Mapping |
| Mar 17 | Final Project Discussions | ||
| 11 | Mar 22 | Tessellation Shaders [1] | Final Project Proposal deadline |
| Mar 24 | Bump, Normal, Displacement, and Parallax Mapping | ||
| 12 | Mar 29 | Compute Shaders and Mesh Shaders [2] | Project 8 deadline - Tessellation |
| Mar 31 | Deferred, Variable-Rate, and Adaptive Shading | ||
| 13 | Apr 5 | Global Illumination | |
| Apr 7 | Ambient Occlusion and Soft Shadows | ||
| 14 | Apr 12 | Refractions, Transparency, Blending, & Alpha Testing | Final Project Progress Report deadline |
| Apr 14 | Volume Rendering | ||
| 15 | Apr 19 | GPU Ray Tracing | |
| Apr 21 | — No Class — | ||
| 16 | Apr 26 | Final Project Presentations (Day 1) | Final Project deadline - Final Project |
| Apr 28 | — No Class — | ||
| Apr 29 | Final Project Presentations (Day 2) Time: 3:30pm-5:30pm |
Projects
Students must submit their source codes for each project through Canvas. All projects will be implemented using C++. Students are highly encouraged to use the OpenGL API for their projects, but other graphics APIs that can be used with C++ are also accepted.
All projects, except for the final project, are individual projects. Group projects are permitted only for the final project.
For individual projects, each student must write his/her own code. Collaboration between students is encouraged, but code sharing is not permitted.
External libraries and source code can be used only for additional functionalities that are not core parts of the projects, and they should be clearly indicated in comments within the source code and in the project report.
Failure to follow these rules may lead to a failing grade. Academic misconduct will not be tolerated. See the Academic Misconduct Policy of the School of Computing for details.
Deadlines and Late Submissions: The deadline for each project is at noon (12:01pm) on the date indicated on the schedule (see above). Late submissions suffer a 5% penalty and an additional 5% penalty is applied every day at noon (12:01 PM). To accommodate for special circumstances, the first 10 late penalties of each student will be omitted.
Resubmissions: Students can submit the same project multiple times (i.e. resubmissions). The first submission must be before the project deadline and must present a clear attempt to complete the project; otherwise, late penalties apply (please see above). Subsequent resubmissions can be used for fixing bugs or incorrectly implemented parts of the projects. No late penalty is applied to resubmissions. Only the first submission date/time is used for evaluating late penalties, provided that it shows a clear attempt. Project submissions (and resubmissions) close 20 days after the project deadline, except for the final project.
Final Project: No late submissions or resubmissions are permitted for the the final project. Students are permitted to form groups for the final project only.
All project submissions are handled through canvas.
Quizzes
Online quizzes will be administered on canvas. Each quiz will be about the topic covered in the corresponding lecture or lectures. Top 20 quiz scores of each student will be used for grading.
Grading
| Quizzes ×20 | 10 points |
|---|---|
| Project 1-5 | 5× 5 points |
| Projects 6-8 | 3× 10 points |
| Final Project Abstract | 5 points |
| Final Project Progress Report | 5 points |
| Final Project | 25 points |
| TOTAL | 100 points |
School of Computing Policies and Guidelines
The School of Computing Policies and Guidelines represent important information that students taking courses in, or seeking degrees from, the School of Computing, must be aware of. It is important that you read, understand, and adhere to this information.
Safe Classroom Environment
In this class, derogatory comments based on race, ethnicity, class, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, (dis)ability status, age, citizenship, or nationality will not be tolerated, nor is it permissible to state one's opinion in a manner that silences the voices of others. Further, egregious disrespect, including, but not limited to, racism, sexism, ageism, homophobia, transphobia, classism, etc. will not be tolerated.
University Policies
1. The Americans with Disabilities Act. The University of Utah seeks to provide equal access to its programs, services, and activities for people with disabilities. If you will need accommodations in this class, reasonable prior notice needs to be given to the Center for Disability Services, 162 Olpin Union Building, (801) 581-5020. CDS will work with you and the instructor to make arrangements for accommodations. All written information in this course can be made available in an alternative format with prior notification to the Center for Disability Services.
2. University Safety Statement. The University of Utah values the safety of all campus community members. To report suspicious activity or to request a courtesy escort, call campus police at 801-585-COPS (801-585-2677). You will receive important emergency alerts and safety messages regarding campus safety via text message. For more information regarding safety and to view available training resources, including helpful videos, visit safeu.utah.edu.
3. Addressing Sexual Misconduct. Title IX makes it clear that violence and harassment based on sex and gender (which Includes sexual orientation and gender identity/expression) is a civil rights offense subject to the same kinds of accountability and the same kinds of support applied to offenses against other protected categories such as race, national origin, color, religion, age, status as a person with a disability, veteran’s status or genetic information. If you or someone you know has been harassed or assaulted, you are encouraged to report it to the Title IX Coordinator in the Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action, 135 Park Building, 801-581-8365, or the Office of the Dean of Students, 270 Union Building, 801-581-7066. For support and confidential consultation, contact the Center for Student Wellness, 426 SSB, 801-581-7776. To report to the police, contact the Department of Public Safety, 801-585-2677(COPS).
4. COVID-19 Fall 2021 Statement University leadership has urged all faculty, students, and staff to model the vaccination, testing, and masking behaviors we want to see in our campus community.
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