- - The original note follows - -
Xref: news.ysu.edu comp.graphics:10889 comp.graphics.animation:785
Newsgroups: comp.graphics,comp.graphics.animation
Path: psuvm!news.ysu.edu!malgudi.oar.net!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!
darwin.sura.net!paladin.american.edu!europa.asd.contel.com!awds.imsd.contel.com
!llyene!leonardo!seal
From: seal@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (David Seal)
Subject: Re: JPL's tour through the solar system.
Message-ID: <seal.720213230@leonardo>
Sender: news@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Nntp-Posting-Host: leonardo
Organization: Jet Propulsion Laboratory
References: <1992Oct27.004831.20865@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
<1ci54iINNheu@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Tue, 27 Oct 1992 19:13:50 GMT
Lines: 50
>In article <1992Oct27.004831.20865@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
pclink@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (Rick) writes:
>>I'm sure most people are familiar with JPL's animations of the journey of
>>a satellite through the solar system. Just a few questions:
>> 1. Are these animations available on tape?
>> 2. What software was used to generate these sequences?
>> Is the software available for use by others? What about
>> the data used (surface maps, models, etc)?
>> 3. What hardware was used?
>Jim Blinn and Sylvie Rueff did most of the animations that you speak
>of. The software is, by Dr. Blinn's own admission, pretty crufty and
>not really usable by anyone else but him and Ms. Rueff. It's written
>in FORTRAN, by the way. There are course notes from a class he gave
>at SIGGRAPH a few years ago (85? 86?) that describe the system in
>pretty full detail, so maybe you can find them. To my knowledge,
>those notes are the most complete description of his system published.
>Blinn has discussed some of the aspects of the hardware and software
>in "Jim Blinn's Corner" in IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications.
>If anyone is REALLY, REALLY, REALLY interested, I suppose I can dig
>the course notes out of my pile of rubbish in the living room and
>excerpt a bit from them.
> spl
>--
>Steve Lamont, SciViGuy -- (619) 534-7968 -- spl@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The software is called SPACE, and was originally written in fortran for the
PDP-11 (talk about old...). For the Voyager Neptune encounter SPACE was
overhauled in part by a fellow named Bill Woody here at JPL, who rewrote it
in C++ for the PC. He has also done enough programming on the Mac to get
the wireframe capabilities working, also in C++. As Steve said, all of the
existing software is 'crufty' and hard to put together to make movies. The
status of the movie making capabilities is also not what it was when Voyager
was at Neptune; the people, software and rendering hardware is pretty
scattered.
If you want a copy of the video clips you could -try- writing the JPL
audiovisual
center; I can't guarantee you'll have any luck, but if they feel generous and
you include a videotape they might send you the movies they have. It was (and
still is) one of the best space-related rendering packages around.
dave
seal@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
--
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
David Seal | Jet Propulsion Laboratory | sunset: 7:54pm
seal@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx | Mission Design | temp: 82 degrees
Xref: news.ysu.edu comp.graphics:10889 comp.graphics.animation:785
Newsgroups: comp.graphics,comp.graphics.animation
Path: psuvm!news.ysu.edu!malgudi.oar.net!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!
darwin.sura.net!paladin.american.edu!europa.asd.contel.com!awds.imsd.contel.com
!llyene!leonardo!seal
From: seal@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (David Seal)
Subject: Re: JPL's tour through the solar system.
Message-ID: <seal.720213230@leonardo>
Sender: news@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Nntp-Posting-Host: leonardo
Organization: Jet Propulsion Laboratory
References: <1992Oct27.004831.20865@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
<1ci54iINNheu@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Tue, 27 Oct 1992 19:13:50 GMT
Lines: 50
>In article <1992Oct27.004831.20865@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
pclink@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (Rick) writes:
>>I'm sure most people are familiar with JPL's animations of the journey of
>>a satellite through the solar system. Just a few questions:
>> 1. Are these animations available on tape?
>> 2. What software was used to generate these sequences?
>> Is the software available for use by others? What about
>> the data used (surface maps, models, etc)?
>> 3. What hardware was used?
>Jim Blinn and Sylvie Rueff did most of the animations that you speak
>of. The software is, by Dr. Blinn's own admission, pretty crufty and
>not really usable by anyone else but him and Ms. Rueff. It's written
>in FORTRAN, by the way. There are course notes from a class he gave
>at SIGGRAPH a few years ago (85? 86?) that describe the system in
>pretty full detail, so maybe you can find them. To my knowledge,
>those notes are the most complete description of his system published.
>Blinn has discussed some of the aspects of the hardware and software
>in "Jim Blinn's Corner" in IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications.
>If anyone is REALLY, REALLY, REALLY interested, I suppose I can dig
>the course notes out of my pile of rubbish in the living room and
>excerpt a bit from them.
> spl
>--
>Steve Lamont, SciViGuy -- (619) 534-7968 -- spl@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The software is called SPACE, and was originally written in fortran for the
PDP-11 (talk about old...). For the Voyager Neptune encounter SPACE was
overhauled in part by a fellow named Bill Woody here at JPL, who rewrote it
in C++ for the PC. He has also done enough programming on the Mac to get
the wireframe capabilities working, also in C++. As Steve said, all of the
existing software is 'crufty' and hard to put together to make movies. The
status of the movie making capabilities is also not what it was when Voyager
was at Neptune; the people, software and rendering hardware is pretty
scattered.
If you want a copy of the video clips you could -try- writing the JPL
audiovisual
center; I can't guarantee you'll have any luck, but if they feel generous and
you include a videotape they might send you the movies they have. It was (and
still is) one of the best space-related rendering packages around.
dave
seal@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
--
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
David Seal | Jet Propulsion Laboratory | sunset: 7:54pm
seal@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx | Mission Design | temp: 82 degrees