This research is in the area of geometrical modelling. It is organized into three categories of projects. The largest is a collaborative effort centered on a VLSI raycasting engine that should improve dramatically the performance of solid modelling systems. An NSF-funded team at Duke University will supply experimental prototypes of the special purpose computer; Cornell will create and operate appropriate test beds for production automation applications and will study a range of issues bearing on the integration of the computer into systems and on new applications and extensions of the technology. A second category of theory-and-algorithm projects will emphasize research on active-zone algorithms, spatial sweeping domain extensions and other geometric modelling problems. The third category of projects is exploratory in character and includes the management of complexity and modelling support for mechanical design. The principal investigator is a capable researcher and has done pioneering work in solid modelling. The funding of this project will make possible the testing of the raycasting machine designed at Duke University by an expert user, as well as providing the environment for new research in solid modelling. Approximately half of the project relates to the testing and evaluating the performance of the ray- casting machine and is funded by the Experimental Systems Program, Division of Microelectronic Information Processing Systems (MIPS), and the other half of the project relates to new work in solid modelling and is funded by the Division of Design, Manufacturing, and Computer- Integrated Engineering (DMCE).
