Master’s Thesis Project in Computer Graphics: Depth Buffer Compression

Thesis

Real-time rendering of 3D graphics on mobile phones is a rapidly growing area with applications such as 3D-maps, user interfaces and, naturally, games. Rendering of 3D graphics is a demanding task, and therefore Ericsson is conducting research on algorithms that reduce power consumption and renders efficiently. The algorithms achieve this by lowering the memory bandwidth traffic on the bus.

The depth buffer stores the depth for each pixel in a buffer, and before a pixel is drawn the contents of this buffer must first be checked. This generates a lot of the memory bandwidth during rendering. By compressing the depth buffer and transferring it in compressed form over the bus, a lot of bandwidth can be saved. The data is often of a very characteristic structure, and this is typically used in depth buffer compression techniques to obtain fast and efficient lossless compression.

The subject of the Master’s Thesis project is to investigate and compare different depth buffer compression methods for mobile graphics, determine which methods are best suited for mobiles, and hopefully also come up with new variants of efficient depth buffer compression methods.

Competence

We are looking for a person that is skilled in Mathematics, and preferably also in Information Theory. She/he should be fluent in C/C++, and knowledge of MATLAB is also a plus. A basic understanding of cache systems is needed. If you are looking for a Master’s Thesis project with a research twist, this is the right one. Applicants from a Master of Science program (civilingenjörsprogram or similar) in Electrical Engineering, Computer Science and Engineering or Engineering Physics are preferred.

Who we are

Multimedia Technology is a department within Ericsson Research where research about different media types such as audio, images and video is carried out. Visual technology is a subgroup, and here we deal with visual media such as still image coding, video coding and computer graphics for mobile phones and networks. The thesis work will be carried out in Kista, Stockholm.

Contact person

Jacob Ström
Ericsson Research
Torshamnsgatan 23
164 80 STOCKHOLM
jacob.strom (at) ericsson.com
0859436883 / 0702672192

Apply before 2006-12-14
Preferred Starting Date: 2007-01-08