A real time three-dimensional color animation system

Abstract

A system is described for the generation of real time quasi three-dimensional animated television images. The technique utilized is a composite of the "multi-plane" cartoon animation technique and three-dimensional object projection techniques using polygonal patch representations of objects. The hardware environment consists of a hierarchical memory structure utilizing shift register "background" planes and a fast random access main image "foreground" plane. The foreground plane has a variable "depth" with respect to the background planes. Perspective relations in the image structure are maintained in real time with only infrequent updating of the background data.