Technologies

Texture mapping is a method used to add detail, texture or color to a computer-generated graphic or 3-D model. This process has been limited thus far to the transfer of a 2-D image onto a 3-D computer generated surface. Basic techniques have been proposed for obtaining a flattened computerized image to aid in the visualization of complex structures; however, the resulting flattened representations are often distorted. An improved method for mapping any image that can be stored in a computer-readable format onto a flattened surface is needed. UW–Madison researchers have developed a computerized apparatus and an associated method and program for producing a flattening map from a digitized image. The digitized image may be a real object, quasi-discrete data or computer-generated discrete data. A first set of data comprising a plurality of discrete surface-elements is constructed to represent at least a portion of the surface of a digitized image; then, a flattening function is performed on the data set to produce the flattening map. The flattening map is conformally mapped onto a computer-generated surface that then can be displayed on a computer-assisted display apparatus that is in communication with a processor.

The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) is seeking commercial partners interested in developing a computerized apparatus for producing an improved flattening map of a digitized image.