Attribute Based Modeling
In modeling, mathematical and topological specifications often impose limitations on a user's ability to convert a creative concept into a geometric shape. B-spine modeling, for instance, requires a rectangular arrangement of surface patches that do not always fit the natural configuration indicated by the object. A new design method, called AB modeling, enables freely designable topologies, including multisided regions, T-junctions, floating curves of any parametric form and points in one unified approach. It facilitates design by allowing one to focus on the feature curves of the object, and minimizing curves that exist only due to the mathematics. We develop interface methods based on the new method that allow both G1 and G2 continuity between patches. We also investigate the computational efficiency and compact database properties that make the method attractive for interactive applications.

Elizabeth Mynatt
Elizabeth D. Mynatt is Associate Professor in the College of Computing at the Georgia Institute of Technology, and is the the director of the GVU Center. There, she directs the research program in Everyday Computing, examining the human-computer interface implications of having computation continuously present in many aspects of everyday life. Themes in her research include supporting informal collaboration and awareness in office environments, enabling creative work and visual communication, and augmenting social processes for managing personal information. Dr. Mynatt is one of the principal researchers in the Aware Home Research Initiative; investigating the design of future home technologies, especially those that enable older adults to continue living independently as opposed to moving to an institutional care setting.

Abstract to be announced