Turner Whitted
Microsoft Research
Conventional graphics and video processing concentrate
processing into CPU/GPU modules with displays connected as
passive recipients of pixel streams. As displays grow
larger this model is strained by extreme pixel bandwidth
or, in the case of tiled displays, unwieldy collections of
video cables. Displays are evolving with the addition of
silicon circuitry for auxiliary functions including image
decompression. The opportunity exists to greatly expand
the functions embedded in displays. Advantages of such
smart displays include reduced connection bandwidth,
scalability, and a more flexible model of visual
computing.
An independent evolution is occurring in the realm of
interactive rendering that fits nicely into this model and
serves as a template for embedded display processors. We
are investigating a merger of these two trends with
partitioned rendering that places the final stages of
image construction in the display. Portions of this
display processor are restricted to a structure that will
eventually lend itself to implementation using the same
materials and fabrication techniques as the display
surface.
Bio:
Turner Whitted is a
principal researcher at Microsoft Research investigating
algorithms and architectures for computer
graphics. Previously he managed MSR's hardware devices and
graphics groups.
He was a member of the computer science faculty at the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill from 1983
until 2001. He co-founded Numerical Design Limited in
1983, served as president and technical director until
1996, and continued to serve as a director until NDL's
merger with Emergent Game Technologies in 2005. Prior to
that he was a member of the technical staff in Bell Labs'
computer systems research laboratory.
He earned BSE and MS degrees from Duke University and a
PhD from North Carolina State University, all in
electrical engineering. In the past he has served on the
editorial boards of IEEE Computer Graphics and
Applications and ACM Transactions on Graphics, was papers
chair for SIGGRAPH 97, and currently serves on the
SIGGRAPH executive committee. He is an ACM Fellow and a
member of the National Academy of Engineering.