Open Access Te Herenga Waka-Victoria University of Wellington
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Realism in Data-Based Terrain Synthesis

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Version 2 2023-09-26, 01:36
Version 1 2021-12-08, 20:06
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posted on 2021-12-08, 20:06 authored by Joshua Scott

The landscapes on Earth are varied and complex, having been created by innumerous physical processes over millions of years. The creation of artificial terrain that replicates the realism of landscapes on Earth has been a major challenge for computer graphics. Many different approaches have been taken, including approximating the terrain with fractals and splines, simulating the terrain using models from the physical geography, and reconstructing terrain from elements of real-world data. A primary issue in the field of terrain synthesis is the lack of, and evaluation of, realism in synthesized terrain.   This thesis identifies and discusses the flaws of existing data-based methods based on example-based texture synthesis methods. It provides improvements to an existing data-based method using algorithms from the field of geographic information science, and presents a novel algorithm, ``terrain-optimization'', based on the example-based texture synthesis technique of texture-optimization. Finally, it discusses a new approach to the experimental evaluation of terrain realism, with the largest experiment conducted to date. The results of this show that each of the tested methods is indistinguishable from reality in certain circumstances and that those circumstances differ for each method tested, and that subjects with a high level of expertise in physical geography are the most qualified for identifying real terrain from synthesized terrain.  Overall, the thesis provides substantial analysis and evidence about the challenges of data-based terrain synthesis while also developing new approaches in the field that perform as well as existing state-of-the-art methods.

History

Copyright Date

2020-01-01

Date of Award

2020-01-01

Publisher

Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington

Rights License

Author Retains Copyright

Degree Discipline

Computer Graphics

Degree Grantor

Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington

Degree Level

Doctoral

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

ANZSRC Type Of Activity code

1 PURE BASIC RESEARCH

Victoria University of Wellington Item Type

Awarded Doctoral Thesis

Language

en_NZ

Victoria University of Wellington School

School of Engineering and Computer Science

Advisors

Dodgson, Neil; Andreae, Peter