Computer Science Colloquium - Prof. Tobias Günther, University of Nürenberg

Title: A unified model for smooth vector graphics representations

Abstract:

The field of smooth vector graphics explores the representation, creation, rasterization, and automatic generation of light-weight image representations, frequently used for scalable image content. Over the past decades, several representations of images with smooth gradients have emerged that each led to separate research threads, including the popular gradient meshes and diffusion curves. As the computational models matured, the mathematical descriptions diverged and research started to focus on specific problems, such as on the representation and creation of vector graphics, or the automatic vectorization from raster images. In this talk, we present a unified model that describes gradient meshes and diffusion curves jointly as solution to a partial differential equation. We hope that a unification of the formulations will lead to new rasterization and vectorization tools in the future that utilize the strengths of both approaches.

Short Bio:

Tobias Günther is a professor of Visual Computing at the Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, Germany, working in visualization and computer graphics. He was a postdoctoral researcher in the Computer Graphics Laboratory at ETH Zurich and received his Ph.D. in the Visual Computing Group at the Otto-von-Guericke University of Magdeburg.