Virtual skin looking even better

BBC NEWS: Virtual skin looking even better

Yeah I know, I'm a little obsessed with this Math topic right now, but I've been seeing things in a new perspective lately. Rather than just thinking "hey, cool", I thought, "this is a perfect example of why Math is important in Computer Science".

Dr. Henrik Jensen made an astute observation (that some light was scattered inside marble rather than just reflecting directly off of it) while doing an unrelated project, and saw a way to apply his findings. As he said, "The development of the mathematical model was the most difficult aspect of the project", and "It required a number of new algorithms and techniques not previously seen in computer graphics."

Without the ability to create that mathematical model, his observation might not have had as much potential for innovation.

Anyway, not trying to be preachy, but I'm finally seeing the light. No pun intended.

Written on May 7, 2004