Terrain Openness Calculation Using Mipmap Levels
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electronic map rendering technologies face challenges in efficiently representing elevated terrain features on computing devices due to high computational resource requirements for determining openness factors, leading to sluggish performance and reduced user interactivity.
Innovation Solution
The use of mipmaps to encode elevation data at multiple resolution levels, allowing for efficient calculation of openness factors and hill shading, which are then used to render electronic maps, reducing the computational burden and improving responsiveness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If openness factors are determined for each pixel of a digital elevation model, then the visual representation of terrain features is improved, but the computational resource use and rendering time increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the computational domain into multiple mipmap levels, where each level represents a different resolution of the terrain data. By segmenting the calculation into these hierarchical levels, the system can process terrain openness at reduced resolutions first, then progressively refine results at higher resolutions only where necessary, significantly reducing the total number of pixel-by-pixel openness calculations required.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent pre-calculates and stores mipmap levels of the digital elevation model before performing openness factor calculations. These pre-computed lower-resolution elevation representations are stored and reused during rendering, eliminating the need to perform full-resolution openness calculations for every view change or rendering operation, thus improving rendering speed while maintaining visual quality.
2Manufacturing precision
If high-resolution terrain data is processed for each pixel, then the detail and accuracy of terrain representation is improved, but the computational burden on mobile devices increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies different levels of computational quality to different regions of the terrain based on their importance and visibility. By using mipmap levels, the system can process distant or less important terrain regions at lower resolutions while maintaining high-resolution processing only for nearby or visually critical areas, thus reducing overall computational complexity while preserving essential terrain details.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent adds a resolution dimension to the terrain processing by creating multiple mipmap levels at different scales. This dimensional approach allows the system to select appropriate processing resolution based on viewing distance and importance, transforming a single high-complexity 2D pixel processing problem into a multi-resolution 3D computational space that can be optimized hierarchically.
Data Source
AI summary
Efficiently generating terrain openness involves a digital elevation model comprising a texture representing a first geographic area and at least part of a plurality of mipmap levels representing geographic areas bordering the first geographic area. The texture and mipmap levels include pixels encoding elevation values for locations of geographic areas. For each pixel of the texture, derivatives are determined, as well as an openness factor based at least in part on the elevations at one or more pixels of the mipmap levels. The derivatives and openness factor are added to the texture. A hill shading factor is determined for each pixel based at least in part on the derivatives. An electronic map of the first geographic area is rendered using the openness and hill shading factors of each pixel of the texture. The rendering is sent for display.