Dispersion heuristic for design gallery interfaces

Abstract

A system for generating a set of graphical images based upon application of different graphical transfer functions to data of physical structures in a scene. The application of the different graphical transfer functions define graphical images of a single scene having different characteristics. A user can then review the images to select a desirable image, without having to define or know the graphical transfer function which generates the image. The system of the present invention generates a dispersed set of output vectors representing characteristics of the set of images based upon a transfer function. The system creates the dispersed set by generating a random set of output vectors and then randomly perturbing one. The perturbed vector replaces one of the other vectors if the replacement results in a more dispersed set. The process is repeated until a thoroughly dispersed set of output vectors has been obtained. The dispersion of the set is determined based upon a total number of iterations or a number of perturbations without replacement. The output vectors are created by randomly selecting sets of parameters of the graphical transfer function as input vectors, and generating the images based upon the input vectors. The output vectors are similarly perturbed by randomly perturbing at least one parameter of a randomly selected input vector, and determining the corresponding new output vector.

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