T-splines in VRML

T-splines are increasingly popular in design and animation. However, since it is not supported by VRML/X3D, T-spline visualization is not available for the use online. This paper proposes the T-spline VRML node, which allows the end users to utilize T-splines for complex model design and online visualization with relatively small number of control points. Similar with the NURBS based and polygon based VRML nodes, T-spline VRML node can support geometry, color, texture, LOD and animation. The file size required for T-spline VRML node to represent a same complex model can be substantially minimized compared with the ones with NURBS based and polygonal based VRML nodes. Thus, it is feasible for data transmission on internet. A new data structure is proposed to represent T-spline surfaces in VRML for easy editing. The implementation details and the application examples of the proposed node are discussed.

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