SIGGRAPH 1995 Course #2 Graphics Design and Production for Hemispheric Projection A-1 SPHERICAL IMAGE REPRESENTATION AND DISPLAY: A NEW PARADIGM FOR COMPUTER GRAPHICS

Our visual senses are flooded with graphical representations of both real and imaginary scenes. Graphical representation has progressed from early petroglyphs to artwork, printed media, photography, cinema, television, and most recently, computer graphics and networked communications. These media are a major source of visual stimulation for our edification and enjoyment. There exists one common denominator with virtually all popular forms of graphical representation: They are displayed on a flat view plane. As Michael Naimark points out in his Realspace Imaging taxonomy, monoscopic imaging of a flat plane is the equivalent of looking through a viewing window with a single stationary eye [Naimark 91]. Since we cannot poke our head through the window, we are limited to a field of view of less than 180°. Despite the problems associated with representing three-dimensional space on a plane [Barbour 91] we have been driven by the limitations of our technologies.