Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!apple!sun-barr!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!airgun!fvance
From: fvance@airgun.UUCP (Frank Vance)
Newsgroups: comp.graphics
Subject: How did Alliant do this image?
Keywords: Alliant ; How did they do it?
Message-ID: <26@airgun.UUCP>
Date: 12 Jul 89 22:41:46 GMT
Distribution: na
Organization: Western Geophysical, Houston
Lines: 25

In their advertisement in the July 89 issue of Supercomputing Review
(pages 6-7) Alliant features 4 images showing "typical" applications.
The one on the right, captioned "Mission Planning" shows an image of a
landscape, with valley, river, and mountains.  It has something of a fractal
character to it.
 
My questions are:
 
1. Is this image just a fractal landscape, or does the image represent a	"reconstruction" of a real-world location based on data points with elevation,
etc.

2. If the latter, how is the real landscape modeled?  As contour lines or
discrete points (or a grid)?  The detailing of the mountain (in particular) 
seems to imply either a very high level of detail for the model or some 
degree of fractal "interpolating" to add texture to the landscape.  

3. Assuming it is not just a fractal image, is this an application some one
markets?

As usual, thanks in advance.

Frank Vance, Western Geophysical, Houston, TX      uunet!airgun!fvance
-- 
Frank Vance				fvance@airgun.wg.waii.com
Western Geophysical, Houston 		...!uunet!airgun!fvance