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US 7176926 B2 Abstract A method animates an object as a sequence of frames according to an animation script. The object is represented as a two-dimensional distance field. For each frame in the sequence of frames, a pose of the object is updated according to the animation script. The object is rendered using the updated pose and an antialiasing rendering method.
Claims(14) 1. A method for animating an object as a sequence of frames according to an animation script, comprising:
representing the object as a two-dimensional distance field;
updating, for each frame in the sequence of frames, a pose of the two-dimensional distance field representing the object according to the animation script; and
rendering and displaying the two-dimensional distance field representing the object using the updated pose and a distance-based antialiasing rendering method, wherein the rendering further comprises:
associating a set of sample points in the two-dimensional distance field representing the object with a component of a pixel;
determining a distance from the two-dimensional distance field and the set of sample points; and
mapping the distance to an antialiased intensity of the component of the pixel.
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10. A method for animating an object as a sequence of frames according to an animation script, comprising:
representing the object as a two-dimensional distance field, wherein the two-dimensional distance field is partitioned into cells, each cell including a method for reconstructing the two-dimensional distance field within the cell;
updating, for each frame in the sequence of frames, a pose of the two-dimensional distance field representing the object according to the animation script; and
rendering and displaying the two-dimensional distance field representing the object using the updated pose and a distance-based antialiasing rendering method, wherein the rendering further comprises:
identifying a set of cells of the two-dimensional distance field representing the object, the set of cells associated with a region of the two-dimensional distance field to be rendered;
locating a set of pixels associated with the region;
specifying a set of components for each pixel in the set of pixels; and
determining an antialiased intensity for each component of each pixel in the set of pixels, the determining further comprising:
determining a distance for the component of the pixel from the set of cells; and
mapping the distance to the antialiased intensity of the component of the pixel.
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Description The invention relates generally to the field of computer graphics, and more particularly to animating two-dimensional objects represented by distance fields. In the field of computer graphics, the rendering of two-dimensional objects is of fundamental importance. Two-dimensional objects, such as character shapes, corporate logos, and elements of an illustration contained in a document, are rendered as static images or as a sequence of frames comprising an animation. There are numerous representations for two-dimensional objects and it is often the case that one representation is better than another representation for specific operations such as rendering and editing. In these cases, a conversion from one form to another is performed. Although we focus here on digital type, possibly the most common and important two-dimensional object, the following discussion applies to all types of two-dimensional objects. We begin with some basic background on digital type. A typical Latin font family, such as Times New Roman or Arial, includes a set of fonts, e.g., regular, italic, bold and bold italic. Each font includes a set of individual character shapes called glyphs. Each glyph is distinguished by its various design features, such as underlying geometry, stroke thickness, serifs, joinery, placement and number of contours, ratio of thin-to-thick strokes, and size. There are a number of ways to represent fonts, including bitmaps, outlines, e.g., Type 1 [Adobe Systems, Inc. 1990] and TrueType [Apple Computer, Inc. 1990], and procedural fonts, e.g., Knuth's Metafont, with outlines being predominant. Outline-based representations have been adopted and popularized by Bitstream Inc. of Cambridge, Mass., Adobe Systems, Inc. of Mountain View, Calif., Apple Computer, Inc., of Cupertino, Calif., Microsoft Corporation of Bellevue, Wash., URW of Hamburg, Germany, and Agfa Compugraphic of Wilmington, Mass. Hersch, �Visual and Technical Aspects of Type, � Cambridge University Press. 1993 and Knuth, �TEX and METAFONT: New Directions in Typesetting,� Digital Press, Bedford, Mass. 1979, contain comprehensive reviews of the history and science of fonts. Of particular importance are two classes of type size: body type size and display type size. Fonts in body type are rendered at relatively small point sizes, e.g., 14 pt. or less, and are used in the body of a document, as in this paragraph. Body type requires high quality rendering for legibility and reading comfort. The size, typeface, and baseline orientation of body type rarely change within a single document. Fonts in display type are rendered at relatively large point sizes, e.g., 36 pt. or higher, and are used for titles, headlines, and in design and advertising to set a mood or to focus attention. In contrast to body type, the emphasis in display type is on esthetics, where the lack of spatial and temporal aliasing is important, rather than legibility, where contrast may be more important than antialiasing. It is crucial that a framework for representing and rendering type handles both of these two classes with conflicting requirements well. Type can be rendered to an output device, e.g., printer or display, as bi-level, grayscale, or colored. Some rendering engines use bi-level rendering for very small type sizes to achieve better contrast. However, well-hinted grayscale fonts can be just as legible. Hints are a set of rules or procedures stored with each glyph to specify how an outline of the glyph should be modified during rendering to preserve features such as symmetry, stroke weight, and a uniform appearance across all the glyphs in a typeface. While there have been attempts to design automated and semi-automated hinting systems, the hinting process remains a major bottleneck in the design of new fonts and in the tuning of existing fonts for low-resolution display devices. In addition, the complexity of interpreting hinting rules precludes the use of hardware for font rendering. The lack of hardware support forces compromises to be made during software rasterization, such as the use of fewer samples per pixel, particularly when animating type in real time. Grayscale font rendering typically involves some form of antialiasing. Antialiasing is a process that smoothes out jagged edges or staircase effects that appear in bi-level fonts. Although many font rendering engines are proprietary, most use supersampling, after grid fitting and hinting, with 4 or 16 samples per pixel followed by down-sampling with a 2�2 or 4�4 box filter, respectively. Rudimentary filtering, such as box filtering, is justified by the need for rendering speed. However, even that approach is often too slow for real-time rendering, as required for animated type, and the rendered glyphs suffer from spatial and temporal aliasing. Two important trends in typography reveal some inherent limitations of prior art font representations and thus provide the need for change. The first trend is the increasing emphasis of reading text on-screen due to the dominant role of computers in the office, the rise in popularity of Internet browsing at home, and the proliferation of PDAs and other hand-held electronic devices. These displays typically have a resolution of 72�100 dots per inch, which is significantly lower than the resolution of printing devices. This low-resolution mandates special treatment when rasterizing type to ensure reading comfort and legibility, as evidenced by the resources that companies such as Microsoft and Bitstream have invested in their respective ClearType and Font Fusion technologies. The second trend is the use of animated type, or kinetic typography. Animated type is used to convey emotion, to add interest, and to visually attract the reader's attention. The importance of animated type is demonstrated by its wide use in television and Internet advertising. Unfortunately, traditional outline-based fonts have limitations in both of these areas. Rendering type on a low-resolution display requires careful treatment in order to balance the needs of good contrast for legibility, and reduced spatial and/or temporal aliasing for reading comfort. As stated above, outline-based fonts are typically hinted to provide instructions to the rendering engine for optimal appearance. Font hinting is labor intensive and expensive. For example, developing a well-hinted typeface for Japanese or Chinese fonts, which can have more than ten thousand glyphs, can take years. Because the focus of hinting is on improving the rendering quality of body type, the hints tend to be ineffective for type placed along arbitrary paths and for animated type. Although high quality filtering can be used to antialias grayscale type in static documents that have a limited number of font sizes and typefaces, the use of filtering in animated type is typically limited by real-time rendering requirements. The invention provides a method for animating an object as a sequence of frames according to an animation script. The object is represented as a two-dimensional distance field. For each frame in the sequence of frames, a pose of the object is updated according to the animation script. The object is rendered using the updated pose and an antialiasing rendering method. Distance Field Representation of Glyphs Our invention represents a closed two-dimensional shape S, such as a glyph, a corporate logo, or any digitized representation of an object, as a two-dimensional signed distance field D. For the purpose of our description, we use glyphs. Informally, the distance field of a glyph measures a minimum distance from any point in the field to the edge of the glyph, where the sign of the distance is negative if the point is outside the glyph and positive if the point is inside the glyph. Points on the edge have a zero distance. Formally, the distance field is a mapping D: 2→ for all p ε 2 such that D(p)=sign(p)�min{∥p−q∥: for all points q on the zero-valued iso-surface, i.e., edge, of S}, sign(p)={−1 if p is outside S, +1 if p is inside S}, and ∥�∥ is the Euclidean norm.Prior art coverage-based rendering methods that use a single discrete sample for each pixel can completely miss the glyph even when the sample is arbitrarily close to the outline. The rendered glyph has jagged edges and dropout, which are both forms of spatial aliasing. If the glyph is animated, then temporal aliasing causes flickering outlines and jagged edges that seem to �crawl� during motion. Taking additional samples per pixel to produce an antialiased rendition can reduce these aliasing effects, but many samples may be required for acceptable results. In contrast, continuously sampled distance values according to our invention indicate a proximity of the glyph, even when the samples are outside the shape. Furthermore, because the distance field varies smoothly, i.e., it is C0 continuous, sampled values change slowly as the glyph moves, reducing temporal aliasing artifacts. Distance fields have other advantages. Because they are an implicit representation, they share the benefits of implicit functions. In particular, distance fields enable an intuitive interface for designing fonts. For example, individual components of glyphs such as stems, bars, rounds, and serifs can be designed separately. After design, the components can be blended together using implicit blending methods to compose different glyphs of the same typeface. Distance fields also have much to offer in the area of kinetic typography or animated type because distance fields provide information important for simulating interactions between objects. In a preferred embodiment, we use adaptively sample distance fields, i.e., ADFs, see U.S. Pat. No. 6,396,492, �Detail-directed hierarchical distance fields,� Frisken, Perry, and Jones, incorporated herein by reference. ADFs are efficient digital representations of distance fields. ADFs use detail-directed sampling to reduce the number of samples required to represent the field. The samples are stored in a spatial hierarchy of cells, e.g., a quadtree, for efficient processing. In addition, ADFs provide a method for reconstructing the distance field from the sampled values. Detail-directed or adaptive sampling samples the distance field according to a local variance in the field: more samples are used when the local variance is high, and fewer samples are used when the local variance is low. Adaptive sampling significantly reduces memory requirements over both regularly sampled distance fields, which sample at a uniform rate throughout the field, and 3-color quadtrees, which always sample at a maximum rate near edges. Bi-Quadratic Reconstruction Method Frisken et al. use a quadtree for the ADF spatial hierarchy, and reconstruct distances and gradients inside each cell from the distances sampled at the four corners of each cell via bi-linear interpolation. They suggest that �higher order reconstruction methods . . . might be employed to further increase compression, but the numbers already suggest a point of diminishing return for the extra effort�. However, bi-linear ADFs are inadequate for representing, rendering, editing, and animating character glyphs according to the invention. In particular, they require too much memory, are too inefficient to process, and the quality of the reconstructed field in non-edge cells is insufficient for operations such as dynamic simulation. A �bounded-surface� method can force further subdivision in non-edge cells by requiring that non-edge cells within a bounded distance from the surface, i.e., an edge, pass an error predicate test, see Perry et al., �Kizamu: A System for Sculpting Digital Characters,� Proceedings ACM SIGGRAPH 2001, pp. 47�56, 2001. Although that reduces the error in the distance field within this bounded region, we have found that for bi-linear ADFs that method results in an unacceptable increase in the number of cells. To address those limitations, we replace the bi-linear reconstruction method with a bi-quadratic reconstruction method. Bi-quadratic ADFs of typical glyphs tend to require 5�20 times fewer cells than bi-linear ADFs. Higher reduction in the required number of cells occurs when we require an accurate distance field in non-edge cells for operations such as dynamic simulation and animated type. This significant memory reduction allows the glyphs required for a typical animation to fit in an on-chip cache of modern CPUs. This has a dramatic effect on processing times because system memory access is essentially eliminated, easily compensating for the additional computation required by the higher order reconstruction method. There are a variety of bi-quadratic reconstruction methods available. We use a bivariate interpolating polynomial which guarantees C0 continuity along shared edges of neighboring cells of identical size. As with the bi-linear method, continuity of the distance field between neighboring cells of different size is maintained to a specified tolerance using an error predicate. The error predicate controls cell subdivision during ADF generation, see Perry et al., above. The distance and gradient at the point (x, y) 302, where x and y are expressed in cell coordinates, i.e., (x, y) ε [0,1]�[0,1], are determined as follows:
Reconstructing a distance using floating point arithmetic can require �35 floating-point operations (flops), and reconstructing a gradient using floating point arithmetic can require �70 flops. Because our reconstruction methods do not contain branches and the glyphs can reside entirely in an on-chip cache, we can further optimize these reconstruction methods by taking advantage of special CPU instructions and the deep instruction pipelines of modern CPUs. Further, we can reconstruct a distance and a gradient using fixed-point arithmetic. Compression for Transmission and Storage Linear Quadtrees The spatial hierarchy of the ADF quadtree is required for some processing, e.g., collision detection, but is unnecessary for others, e.g., cell-based rendering as described below. To provide compression for transmission and storage of ADF glyphs, we use a linear quadtree structure, which stores our bi-quadratic ADF as a list of leaf cells. The tree structure can be regenerated from the leaf cells as needed. Each leaf cell in the linear ADF quadtree includes the cell's x and y positions in two bytes each, the cell level in one byte, the distance value at the cell center in two bytes, and the eight distance offsets from the center distance value in one byte each, for a total of 15 bytes per cell. Each distance offset is determined by subtracting its corresponding sample distance value from the center distance value, scaling by the cell size to reduce quantization error, and truncating to eight bits. The two bytes per cell position and the one byte for cell level can represent ADFs up to 216�216 in resolution. This is more than adequate for representing glyphs to be rendered at display screen resolutions. Glyphs can be accurately represented by 16-bit distance values. Encoding eight of the distance values as 8-bit distance offsets provides substantial savings over storing each of these values in two bytes. Although, in theory, this may lead to some error in the distance field of large cells, we have not observed any visual degradation. A high-resolution glyph typically requires 500�1000 leaf cells. Lossless entropy encoding can attain a further 35�50% compression. Consequently, an entire typeface of high-resolution ADFs can be represented in 300�500 Kbytes. If only body type is required or the target resolution is very coarse, as for cell phones, then lower resolution ADFs can be used that require � to � as many cells. These sizes are significantly smaller than grayscale bitmap fonts, which require �0.5 Mbytes per typeface for each point size, and are comparable in size to well-hinted outline-based fonts. Sizes for TrueType fonts range from 10's of Kbytes to 10's of Mbytes depending on the number of glyphs and the amount and method of hinting. Arial and Times New Roman, two well-hinted fonts from the Monotype Corporation, require 266 Kbytes and 316 Kbytes respectively. Run-time Generation from Outlines According to our invention, and as described in detail below, ADFs can be generated quickly from existing outline or boundary descriptors, e.g., Bezier curves, using the tiled generator described by Perry et al. The minimum distance to a glyph's outline or boundary is computed efficiently using Bezier clipping, see Sederberg et al., �Geometric Hermite Approximation of Surface Patch Intersection Curves,� CAGD, 8(2), pp. 97�114, 1991. Generation requires 0.04�0.08 seconds per glyph on a 2 GHz Pentium IV processor. An entire typeface can be generated in about four seconds. Because conventional hints are not needed, the boundary descriptors required to generate the ADFs are substantially smaller than their corresponding hinted counterparts. Therefore, rather than storing ADFs, we can store these minimal outlines and generate ADF glyphs dynamically from these outlines on demand. The reduced size of these minimal outlines is important for devices with limited memory and for applications that transmit glyphs across a bandwidth-limited network. The set of boundary descriptors are first preprocessed 1010. The preprocessing subdivides the boundary descriptors to reduce their spatial extent. The boundary descriptors can also be coalesced to reduce the cardinality of the set of boundary descriptors. The preprocessing allows us to reduce the number of boundary descriptors that need to be queried for each location when determining the unsigned distance, as described below. A spatial hierarchy 1021, e.g., a quadtree, is constructed 1020 from the preprocessed set of boundary descriptors 1011. A cache of intersections 1031 is initialized 1030. The cache of intersections 1031 stores locations where the boundary descriptors intersect a set of lines, e.g., horizontal, vertical, diagonal, etc., of the distance field, and the direction of the intersection. This eliminates redundant computations when determining the sign of the unsigned distances. The intersections can be sorted by intervals. The spatial hierarchy 1021 is then queried 1040 at a set of locations to determine a set of distances at those locations. The set of distances is used to construct a two-dimensional distance field 1041. The querying invokes a distance function, e.g., Bezier clipping, at each location to determine an unsigned distance. The cache of intersections, the location, and the fill rule are used to determine a sign for the distance. Compression via Component-Based Fonts Significant compression for Chinese, Japanese, and Korean fonts, which can consist of 10,000 or more glyphs, can be achieved by using a component-based representation as in Font Fusion. That representation decomposes glyphs into common strokes and radicals, i.e., complex shapes common to multiple glyphs, stores the strokes and radicals in a font library, and then recombines them in the font rendering engine. Because distance fields are an implicit representation, ADFs can be easily combined using blending or CSG operations, and thus are well suited for compression via that component-based approach. Representing Corners in a Two Dimensional Distance Field Detail-directed sampling with a bilinear or bi-quadratic reconstruction method allows ADFs to represent relatively smooth sections of a boundary of a two-dimensional object with a small number of distance values. However, near corners, the distance field has a high variance that is not well approximated by these reconstruction methods. In order to represent the distance field near corners accurately, such ADFs require cells containing corners to be highly subdivided, significantly increasing memory requirements. In addition, a maximum subdivision level of the ADF, imposed during ADF generation as described in Perry et al., limits the accuracy with which corners can be represented using bilinear and bi-quadratic ADF cells. To address this problem, our invention provides a method 1300 for generating a two-dimensional distance field within a cell enclosing a corner of a two-dimensional object, such as a glyph. As shown in The reconstruction method determines a distance at a point within the cell according to which region the point lies in. A distance for a query point in the first region is determined as the distance from the query point to the corner point. For determining distances in the second region, we partition 1350 the ordered set of boundary descriptors 1311 into two subsets, one comprising boundary descriptors before the corner point 1321 and one comprising boundary descriptors after the corner point 1321. Each subset of boundary descriptors is then extended 1360 to form an extended curve that partitions the cell into an interior and exterior section. For each section, the distance field within the cell can be reconstructed from the set of sample distance values 1371 that are determined 1370 from the corresponding extended curve. A bi-quadratic reconstruction method would require that nine distance values be stored for each of the two extended curves. Note that the intersection of the two interior sections forms the corner of the object. Hence, distances within the second region can be determined by reconstructing a distance to the first interior section and a distance to the second interior section and then selecting the minimum of the two determined distances. The two regions can be specified from two directed lines passing through the corner point, each line perpendicular to one of the two subsets of boundary descriptors. Each line can be specified by the corner point and the outward facing normal of the corresponding subset of boundary descriptors at the corner point. When a line is thus defined, we can determine which side of the line a query point lies on by determining a cross product of a vector from the query point to the corner point and the outward facing normal. Points lying on the exterior side of both lines lie in the first region while points lying on the interior side of either line lie in the second region. Font Rendering In today's font rendering engines, fonts are predominantly represented as outlines, which are scaled as needed to match the desired output size. While most high-resolution printers use bi-level rendering, modern display devices more commonly use grayscale rendering or a combination of grayscale and bi-level rendering at small point sizes. A common approach for rasterizing grayscale glyphs involves scaling and hinting their outlines. The scaled and hinted outlines are scan converted to a high-resolution image, typically four or sixteen times larger than the desired resolution. Then, the high-resolution image is down-sampled by applying a filtering method, e.g., a box filter, to produce the final grayscale image. For body type, individual glyphs can be rasterized once and stored in a cache as a grayscale bitmap for reuse in a preprocessing step. The need for sub-pixel placement of a glyph may require several versions of each glyph to be rasterized. Use of a cache for body type permits higher quality rendering with short delays, e.g., � second, during tasks such as paging through an Adobe Acrobat PDF document. However, type rendered on arbitrary paths and animated type precludes the use of a cache and therefore must be generated on demand. Real-time rendering requirements force the use of lower resolution filtering, typically four samples per pixel and box filtering. This can cause spatial and temporal aliasing. The aliasing can be reduced using hinted device fonts residing in system memory. However, maintaining real-time frame rates places severe constraints on how hinted device fonts can be used, e.g., hinted device fonts cannot be scaled or rotated dynamically. Recent work at Microsoft on ClearType has led to special treatment for LCD color displays that contain a repeating pattern of addressable colored sub-pixels, i.e., components. Platt, in �Optimal Filtering for Patterned Displays,� IEEE Signal Processing Letters, 7(7), pp. 179�180, 2000, describes a set of perceptually optimal filters for each color component. In practice, the optimal filters are implemented as a set of three displaced box filters, one for each color. ClearType uses prior art coverage based antialiasing methods to determine the intensity of each component of each pixel. In contrast, our distance field based method uses the distance field to determine the intensity of each component of each pixel, and does so using fewer samples. Our ADF antialiasing method described below can replace the box filters to provide better emulation of the optimal filters with fewer samples per pixel. Antialiasing Understanding appearance artifacts in rendered fonts requires an understanding of aliasing. Typically, a pixel is composed of discrete components, e.g., a red, green, and blue component in a color printer or display. In a grayscale device, the pixel is a single discrete component. Because pixels are discrete, rendering to an output device is inherently a sampling process. The sampling rate is dependent on the resolution of the device. Unless the sampling rate is at least twice the highest (Nyquist) frequency in the source signal, the sampled signal exhibits aliasing. Edges, e.g., glyph outlines, have infinite frequency components. Hence, edges cannot be represented exactly by sampled data. Inadequate sampling of edges results in jaggies, which tend to crawl along the sampled edges in moving images. If the source signal also contains a spatial pattern, e.g., the repeated vertical stems of an �m� or the single vertical stem of an �i�, whose frequency components are too high for the sampling rate, then the sampled data can exhibit dropout, moir� patterns, and temporal flicker. To avoid aliasing, the input signal must be pre-filtered to remove frequency components above those permitted by the sampling rate. In general, there are two approaches to pre-filtering. The first is known as analytic filtering. It applies some form of spatial averaging to a continuous representation of the source signal before sampling. Unfortunately, analytic filtering is often not possible, either because the source data are not provided as a continuous signal, which is the normal case for image processing, or because determining an analytic description of the signal within the filter footprint is too complex. This is the case for all but simple geometric shapes in computer graphics and certainly the case for spline-based outlines. The second approach is known as discrete filtering. In that approach, the source signal is typically sampled at a higher rate than the target rate to obtain a supersampled image. Then, a discrete filter is applied to reduce high frequencies in the supersampled image before down-sampling the image to the target rate. The discrete approach is referred to as regular supersampling in computer graphics. Various discrete filters can be applied depending on the processing budget, hardware considerations, and personal preferences for contrast versus smoothness in the output image. The box filter typically used to render type simply replaces a rectangular array of supersampled values with their arithmetic average and is generally regarded as inferior in the signal processing community. In another approach, adaptive supersampling focuses available resources for sampling and filtering on areas of the image with higher local frequency components. Optimal adaptive sampling can be determined from the local variability in the image. However, the usefulness of this technique is limited by the need to estimate the local variance of the image, a process that can be computationally expensive. Moir� patterns, due to inadequate regular sampling of high frequency patterns, are particularly objectionable to the human visual system. In general image processing, stochastic or jittered sampling has been used to solve this problem. With stochastic sampling, the samples are randomly displaced slightly from their nominal positions. Stochastic sampling tends to replace moir� pattern aliasing with high frequency noise and has been shown to be particularly effective in reducing temporal aliasing. Rendering with Distance-Based Antialiasing The infinite frequency components introduced by edges of a glyph are a major contribution to aliasing in prior art font rendering. In contrast, by using 2D distance fields to represent 2D objects and then sampling the 2D distance fields according to the invention, we avoid such edges because the representation is C0 continuous. Instead, a maximum frequency depends on a spatial pattern of the glyph itself, e.g., the repeated vertical stems of an �m� or the single vertical stem of an �i�. By representing the glyph by its 2D distance field, we are effectively applying an analytic pre-filter to the glyph. Our antialiasing methods for rendering distance fields as described below yield an output that is different from the output of a conventional analytic pre-filter. Antialiasing with Distance Fields A set 403 of sample points 407 in the two-dimensional distance field 411 representing the object 401 is associated 420 with each component 404 of each pixel 402. A distance (D) 405 is determined 430 from the two-dimensional distance field 411 and the set of sample points 403. Then, the distance 405 is mapped 440 to an antialiased intensity (I) 406 of the component 404 of the pixel 402. In the preferred embodiment, the glyph 401 is represented 410 by a bi-quadratic ADF 411, as described above. This makes it efficient to apply distance-based antialiasing during font rendering. Other representations such as a two-dimensional distance map, a two-dimensional distance shell, and a procedural distance field can also be used. For each component 404 of each pixel 402 in an image, a cell, e.g., a leaf cell, containing the component 404 is located using a quadtree traversal method described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/209,302, filed on Jul. 31, 2002 and titled �Method for Traversing Quadtrees, Octrees, and N-Dimensional Bi-trees,� incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. Although other traversal methods known in the art can be used with our invention, the aforementioned method is comparison-free and therefore executes efficiently. The distance at the component 404 is reconstructed from the cell's distance values and mapped 440 to the antialiased intensity (I) 406. Different mappings can be used, including linear, Gaussian, and sigmoidal functions. Selection of the best mapping function is subjective. In one embodiment, our mapping is a composition of two functions. The first function is as described above, the second is a contrast enhancement function. These two functions are composed to map 440 the distance field (D) 405 to the antialiased intensity (I) 406 of the component 404. Optimal Distance-Based Adaptive Supersampling The above described distance-based antialiasing method reduces aliasing due to glyph edges. However, aliasing artifacts still occur when stem widths or spacing between glyph components are too small for the display's sampling rate. In such cases, we apply distance-based adaptive supersampling as described below to further reduce spatial and temporal aliasing. In the preferred embodiment, we use bi-quadratic ADFs with our novel distance-based adaptive supersampling to provide significant advantages over prior art outline-based representations and coverage-based adaptive supersampling methods. Because ADFs use detail-directed sampling, regions of the distance field with higher local variance are represented by smaller leaf cells. Hence, the structure of the ADF quadtree provides the map of local variance required to implement optimal distance-based adaptive sampling, overcoming the difficulty in the prior art adaptive supersampling antialiasing methods of determining the local variance as described above. For each component 404 of each pixel 402 in the image, the cell containing the component 404 is located, and a set 403 of sample points 407 within a filter radius, r, of the component is associated 420 with the pixel component 404. The number of sample points 407 per component (spc) depends on the relative size of the cell (cellSize) to r. Sampled distances at the sample points 407 are filtered to determine 430 a single weighted average distance 405 that is then mapped 440 to an antialiased intensity 406 of the component 404 of the pixel 402. Various filters and sampling strategies are possible. In the preferred embodiment we use a general form of a Gaussian filter, weighting each distance sample by W12−3(d/r) Rather than concentric circles, the invention can use numerous other strategies to associate sample points 407 with pixel components 404. Our method is not particularly sensitive to the exact sampling strategy. Another adaptive sampling strategy, described below, places sample points at the centers of all the cells contained within the filter radius r. This strategy has equally good results. Cell-Based Antialiasing The distance field antialiasing methods described above can be implemented in software using scanline-based rasterization. Alternatively, distance fields partitioned into cells can be antialiased cell-by-cell, i.e., in object-order. Cell-based rendering eliminates tree traversal for locating cells containing the sample points, eliminates redundant setup for computing distances and gradients within a single cell, and reduces repeated retrieval, i.e., memory fetches, of cell data. In addition, because the cells required for rendering can be represented as a sequential block of fixed sized, self-contained units, i.e., distances and gradients for points within a cell are determined from the cell's distance values, our cell-based approach is amenable to hardware implementations, enabling real-time rendering. The two-dimensional distance field 711 is partitioned into cells 712. In a preferred embodiment where we use bi-quadratic, adaptively sampled distance fields, the size of each cell is dependent on a local variance of the two-dimensional distance field. Each cell includes a method (M) 713 for reconstructing the two-dimensional distance field within the cell. A set of cells 721 containing a region (dashed line) 722 of the distance field to be rendered is identified 720. The region 722 is used to locate 730 a set of pixels 731 associated with the region. A set of components 741 for each pixel in the set of pixels 731 is specified 740. Then, antialiased intensities 751 are determined for each component of each pixel from distances in the set of cells. Here, the distances are reconstructed from the set of cells. The distances are then mapped to the antialiased intensity, as described above. In one embodiment, we can determine the distance by locating a single sample point within the set of cells near the component of the pixel and reconstructing the distance at the single sample point from the set of cells. In our preferred embodiment where we use bi-quadratic adaptively sampled distance fields, this approach is augmented with a special treatment of cells smaller than the filter radius for adaptive distance-based supersampling. Because small cells occur where there is high variance in the distance field, distances in pixels near these cells can be pre-filtered before mapping the distances to intensity. We initialize a compositing buffer of elements, where each element corresponds to a component of each pixel of the set of pixels. Each cell in the set of cells can be processed independently. In the preferred embodiment, each element consists of a weighted distance and an accumulated weight which are both initialized to zero. When a cell is processed, these weighted distances and accumulated weights are incremented in the buffer elements that correspond to pixel components which lie either within the cell or within a filter radius of the cell's center. After processing all the cells, the weighted distances are normalized by the accumulated weight for each component of each pixel to produce the distance that is then mapped to the antialiased component intensity. In the preferred embodiment, we use the same Gaussian weights and filter radius as described above. Our cell-based rendering described thus far always processes every leaf cell in the set of cells, regardless of the relative sizes of each cell to the filter radius. In theory, this provides optimal adaptive distance-based supersampling. In practice, the ADF quadtree can be used as a mipmap to reduce the number of cells. The ADF quadtree structure allows us to replace small leaf cells with their ancestors, effectively truncating the quadtree at some predetermined cell size. As long as this cell size is less than or equal to � of the inter-pixel spacing, there is no visual degradation in the adaptive distance-based supersampling results. This reduces the number of cells to render the region. Processing Pixel Components A pixel comprises one or more components. For example, pixels on a typical CRT or LCD color monitor comprise a red, a green, and a blue component. In our invention, when the pixel comprises a plurality of components, they can be treated independently, as described above, or processed as a single component. When the plurality of components is processed as a single component, a color and an alpha value of the pixel can be determined from the antialiased intensity of the single component. There are two reasons to process the plurality of components as a single component. First, it reduces rendering times. Second, when the plurality of components cannot be addressed individually or when the relative positions of the individual components are not known, individual treatment of each component is not possible. When display devices, such as LCDs, have addressable pixel components, it is known in the art that processing the plurality of components independently can increase the effective resolution of the device. Our invention can exploit this feature of such devices to provide distance-based antialiasing with superior quality over the prior art. Animating Two-Dimensional Objects The two-dimensional distance field representing the object 1201 can be acquired from a different representation of the object, e.g., an outline description of the object or a bitmap description of the object. The updating 1210 of the pose 1211 for a particular object 1201 can be performed by applying various operations to the object including a rigid body transformation, a free-form deformation, a soft-body impact deformation, a level-set method, a particle simulation, and a change to its rendering attributes. When rendering 1220 the object, we associate a set of sample points in the two-dimensional distance field representing the object with a component of a pixel in a frame in the sequence of frames 1221. By determining a distance from the two-dimensional distance field and the set of sample points, we can map the distance to an antialiased intensity of the component of the pixel. In a preferred embodiment, we partition the two-dimensional distance field representing the object 1201 into cells, each cell including a method for reconstructing the two-dimensional distance field within the cell. To render 1220 in this instance, we identify a set of cells of the two-dimensional distance field representing the object 1201 that contains a region of the two-dimensional distance field to be rendered and locate a set of pixels associated with the region. A set of components for each pixel in the set of pixels is specified. A distance for each component of the pixel is determined from the set of cells and the distance is mapped to the antialiased intensity of the component of the pixel to determine an antialiased intensity for each component of each pixel in the set of pixels. Distance-based Automatic Hinting Hinting in standard font representations is a time-consuming manual process in which a type designer and hinting specialist generate a set of rules for better fitting individual glyphs to the pixel grid. Good hinting produces glyphs at small type sizes that are well spaced, have good contrast, and are uniform in appearance. These rules provide: vertical stems with the same contrast distribution, with the left and bottom edges having the sharpest possible contrast; diagonal bars and thin, rounded parts of glyphs to have sufficient contrast for transmitting visual structure to the eye; and serifs that hold together and provide enough emphasis to be captured by the human eye, see Hersch et al., �Perceptually Tuned Generation of Grayscale Fonts,� IEEE CG&A, Nov, pp. 78�89, 1995. Note that prior art filtering methods produce fuzzy characters and assign different contrast profiles to different character parts, thus violating important rules of type design. To overcome these limitations, hints are developed for each glyph of each font. There are numerous problems with prior art hinting methods: they are labor intensive to develop, slow to render, and complex thus precluding hardware implementations. For outline-based fonts, rendering with hints is a three step process. First, the glyph's outlines are scaled and aligned to the pixel grid. Second, the outlines are modified to control contrast of stems, bars, and serifs and to increase the thickness of very thin sections and arcs. Third, the modified outlines are supersampled followed by down-sampling with filtering. Although our unhinted distance-based antialiasing rendering methods described above compare favorably with prior art font rendering methods that use hinting, it is known that perceptual hinting can improve reading comfort at small type sizes. Therefore, as shown in After applying this form of grid fitting, we use the distance field and its gradient field to provide perceptual hints. In one embodiment, the direction of the gradient of the distance field is used to detect 820 pixels on the left and bottom edges of the object. By darkening 830 these pixels and lightening 840 pixels on opposite edges, we achieve higher contrast on left and bottom edges without changing the apparent stroke weight. This can be done by decreasing and increasing the corresponding pixel intensities. In another embodiment, the gradient field is used to provide better contrast for diagonal stems and thin arcs. We note that when a pixel is located on or near thin regions of the glyph, neighbors on either side of the pixel have opposite gradient directions, i.e., their dot products are negative. By detecting abrupt changes in gradient directions, we can darken 850 pixels on these thin regions. These are only two examples of how the distance field can be used to provide perceptual hints automatically. The distance field can also be used to provide optimal character spacing and uniform stroke weight. Generating and Editing Fonts There are two basic methods for designing fonts. The first is manual. There, glyphs are drawn by hand, digitized, and then outlines are fit to the digitized bitmaps. The second is by computer. In the latter case, three types of tools are available. Direct visual tools can be used for curve manipulation. Procedural design tools construct the shape of a glyph by executing the instructions of a procedure. The procedure defines either a shape's outline and fills it, or defines a path stroked by a pen nib with numerous attributes, including a geometry and an orientation. Component-based design tools allow designers to build basic components such as stems, arcs, and other recurring shapes, and then combine the components to generate glyphs. We use a sculpting editor to provide stroke-based design. This is the 2D counterpart to 3D carving as described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/810,261, �System and Method for Sculpting Digital Models,� filed on Mar. 16, 2001, incorporated herein by reference. Stroking can be done interactively or it can be scripted to emulate programmable design tools. Curve-based design, using Bezier curve manipulation tools similar to those in Adobe Illustrator can also be used. Curve-based design can be combined with methods for converting outlines to distance fields and distance fields to outlines to provide a seamless interface between design paradigms. Component-based design uses CSG and blending operations on the implicit distance field. This allows components to be designed separately and combined either during editing or during rendering. We also provide a method for automatically generating ADFs from analog and digital font masters. For component-based design, our font editor provides the ability to efficiently reflect and rotate ADFs using quadtree manipulation to model the symmetries common in glyphs. Additional features include ADF scaling, translation, and operations to combine multiple ADFs, e.g., CSG and blending. For stroke-based design, we provide carving tools with a geometric profile to emulate pen nibs. The orientation and size of the simulated pen nib can change along the stroke to mimic calligraphy. In the preferred embodiment, the boundary descriptors 921 are curves such as cubic Bezier curves. In the preferred embodiment, we apply a curve fitting process to fit a minimum set of G2 continuous curves to the path of the pen, with user-specified accuracy. We also generate two additional ordered lists of offset points from this path using the tool size and orientation, and fit curves to these offset points to generate the stroke outlines. The outline curves are placed in a spatial hierarchy for efficient processing. We generate a two-dimensional ADF from this hierarchy using a tiled generator, see U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/810,983, filed on Mar. 16, 2001, and incorporated herein by reference. The minimum distance to the outlines is computed efficiently using Bezier clipping. Strokes are converted to ADFs without a perceptual delay for the user. For curve manipulation, we provide a Bezier curve editor. As shown in In the preferred embodiment, we use bi-quadratic ADFs where this conversion traverses the leaf cells using the ADF hierarchy for fast neighbor searching, generates an ordered list of points along the zero-valued iso-contours of the ADF, and then fits curves as described with reference to In contrast with the prior art, where boundary descriptor errors are computed from the list of points, we compute the boundary descriptor error directly from the distance field. We pay special attention to sharp corners. Our approach is fast enough to allow users to seamlessly switch between paradigms without any noticeable delay. Next, we generate 1120 an ordered list of points 1121 from the iso-contour 1111 and the two-dimensional distance field 1101. In our preferred embodiment using bi-quadratic adaptively sampled distance fields, this step visits neighboring cells of the adaptively sampled distance field 1101 sequentially using a neighbor searching technique. The search technique exploits a spatial hierarchy of the adaptively sampled distance field 1101 to efficiently localize a next neighbor along the iso-contour 1111. In another embodiment, we generate 1120 an ordered list of points 1121 by selecting boundary cells in the ADF 1101, seeding each boundary cell with a set of ordered points, and moving each point to the iso-contour 1111 of the ADF 1101 using a distance field and a gradient field of the ADF 1101. Then, we initialize 1130 a set of boundary descriptors 1131 to fit the ordered list of points 1121. The boundary descriptors 1131 are initialized 1130 by joining adjacent points of the ordered list of points 1121 to form a set of line segments that constitute the initial boundary descriptors 1131. In another embodiment, we initialize 1130 a set of boundary descriptors 1131 by locating corner points, subdividing the ordered list of points into segments delimited by the corner points, and determining segment boundary descriptors to fit each segment. The union of the segment boundary descriptors forms the initial boundary descriptors 1131. Corner points can be located by measuring curvature determined from the distance field. In the preferred embodiment, where the distance field is a bi-quadratic ADF, regions of high curvature are represented by small cells in the ADF and hence corner points can be located by using ADF cell sizes. Once the boundary descriptors 1131 are initialized 1130, the boundary descriptors 1131 are updated 1140. The updating 1140 determines an error for each boundary descriptor by reconstructing the distance field and measuring the average or maximum deviation of the boundary descriptor from the iso-contour. The boundary descriptors 1131 are updated 1140 until the error for each boundary descriptor is acceptable, or a predetermined amount of time has elapsed, or a cardinality of the set of boundary descriptors 1131 is minimal. To incorporate the existing legacy of fonts stored in non-digital form, i.e., as analog masters, or in digital form as bitmaps, i.e., as digital masters, our editing system provides a method for generating ADFs from high-resolution bi-level bitmaps. Analog masters are first scanned to produce bi-level digital masters at a resolution at least four times higher than the target ADF resolution, e.g., a 4096�4096 digital master is adequate for today's display resolutions and display sizes. An exact Euclidean distance transform is then applied to the bitmap to generate a regularly sampled distance field representing the glyph. Then, we generate an ADF from this regularly sampled distance field using the tiled generator. Conversion from the bitmap to the ADF requires �10 seconds per glyph on a 2 GHz Pentium IV processor. To convert from existing prior art descriptors of glyphs to distance fields where the glyphs are described with a set of boundary descriptors, we apply the method described with reference to Computational Substrate for Kinetic Typography The distance field and the spatial hierarchy attributes of our ADF glyph framework can also be used for computer simulation of 2D objects, e.g., glyphs, corporate logos, or any 2D shape. For example, both attributes can be used in collision detection and avoidance, for computing forces between interpenetrating bodies, and for modeling soft body deformation. Level set methods, which use signed distance fields, can be used to model numerous effects such as melting and fluid dynamics. ADFs are a compact implicit representation that can be efficiently queried to compute distance values and gradients, two important computations required for the methods listed above. In contrast, determining distance values and gradients from outlines that are moving or deforming is impractical in software for real-time interaction, see Hoff et al., �Fast and Simple 2D Geometric Proximity Queries Using Graphics Hardware,� Proc. Interactive 3D Graphics '01, 2001. Hoff et al. use graphics hardware to generate a regularly sampled 2D distance field on the fly for deforming curves approximated by line segments. The implicit nature of the distance field permits complex topological changes, such as surface offsets that would be difficult to model with outline-based fonts. In addition, distance fields can be used to provide non-photorealistic rendering of an animated object to add artistic effect. Effect of the Invention The invention provides a novel framework for representing, rendering, editing, and animating character glyphs, corporate logos, or any two-dimensional object. In a preferred embodiment, the invention uses two-dimensional bi-quadratic ADFs to represent two-dimensional objects. The bi-quadratic reconstruction method provides an optimal balance between memory use and computational load. The invention includes a method for generating a two-dimensional distance field within a cell enclosing a corner of a two-dimensional object. This method provides a significant reduction in memory requirements and a significant improvement in accuracy over the prior art. Our distance-based antialiasing rendering methods provide better antialiasing using a single unhinted distance sample per pixel than the supersampling methods used in the prior art. Our distance-based methods exploit the spatial hierarchy of ADFs to provide efficient optimal adaptive distance-based supersampling resulting in superior spatial and temporal antialiasing. Our methods also provide a computational substrate for distance-based automatic hinting, for distance-based grid fitting, for unifying three common digital font design paradigms, and for generating a variety of special effects for kinetic typography. Although the invention has been described by way of examples of preferred embodiments, it is to be understood that various other adaptations and modifications can be made within the spirit and scope of the invention. Therefore, it is the object of the appended claims to cover all such variations and modifications as come within the true spirit and scope of the invention. Patent Citations
Non-Patent Citations
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Axis Mundi's Ark House is a design for the open plains of Big Sky Country in Montana. The animals found in this and the following rendering may give the impression that the wood and steel structure is a modern-day Noah's ark, but inside the wood base is a three-story house. Here we see the entrance pavilion, which leads to a large observation deck; below it is a bridge that provides access to the house at the far end.
In this rendering, we are looking at the house, which is punctuated by a random scattering of small windows. The large cantilever of the observation deck is also apparent, giving views of the enormous expanse. Even though the exaggerated form may be alien to most, the realistic rendering of the wood and landscape are respectively tactile, and root the design in its place.
Also by Axis Mundi is this Pool Pavilion in Costa Rica. Mild when compared to the Ark House, this view hints at what makes the design special: The horizontal walls and roof point toward the sea beyond.
Inside the pavilion, that view is rendered to merge the pool and the distant waters, both framed between the concrete side walls. It is a strong image that would convince even those skeptical of modern design.
From die-hard modernism to postmodernism: The Devoo Farms Residence, envisioned by Sandvold Blanda Architecture + Interiors, adopts the "decorated shed" idea defined by Robert Venturi and his associates 40 years ago. The concept was that a building with integral signage was seen as an appropriate means of communicating via architecture, as opposed to "ducks," where form attempts to convey meaning.
What looks like a billboard from a distance is actually one long side of a house. The entrance and a small seating area sit behind the freestanding "DE." Behind the large letters is a thickened wall that holds the house's services, such as the kitchen.
A view from the other side of the house reveals a much different back: an open and very modern facade. Full-height glazing below an upturned roof overlooks a terrace and what one presumes is the rest of Devoo Farms.
This residential retrofit of a midcentury-modern house by Reveal Studio also has two unique sides to it. At right is a fairly straightforward bit of modern design with a terrace under a butterfly roof. But the trellis at left looks a little out of place, as does something above it.
From the front, that odd volume is revealed: It's what the designers call a "cloud," inspired by the curves and shapes of test cars (the client works with high-end autos). These renderings are more painterly than photo-realistic, but the cloud and the rest of the house receive equal treatment, making them work together.
Renderings, and a photomontage in particular, are particularly good at showing the integration of landscapes into designs. The lush lawn may be a stretch for this green roof by Sandvold Blanda, but it is nevertheless a good argument for taking advantage of flat roofs in cities. Here the design uses green roofs for both insulating and recreational qualities.
In this modern residential rendering by Stemmler Design, the bermed garage is what's really exceptional. It is hidden from the road, it creates some privacy for the house and its driveway with porous pavers makes for a very "green" design, one that just might offset the car use.
Interiors can be just as fantastical as exteriors, as this and the following rendering by Gemelli Design illustrate. This bathroom is appropriately called "An Oasis in a Sandstorm." The diagonals of yellow give the room a dynamism and blur the distinction between the walls and even the ceiling.
The same designers' "Cubism in the Kitchen" uses green and orange to organize oddly shaped cabinets and walls. The only straight lines are the countertop and shelves. This rendering and the previous one have a strong photo-realism that makes the complex designs look quite real.
Architectural Images: Truth or Fiction?
Architectural Images: Truth or Fiction?

subset: commoncrawl


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Looking to by a pistol and thinking 45,40 along those lines looking for advice on what to get
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Rent the guns and try them out. I carry a 1911 in 45acp. I also had a XDm in 9mm, but would like to think the 45 is just as a fantastic version of it. My brother swears by his Glock. IMHO, springfield armory, sig, Glock, rock island are brands that I have used/carry and would trust them with my life.
Ditto on the trying them out. The pistol that feels, balances & shoots right for me may not fit you. Personally, I like Bersas because, while they are not the prettiest one in the safe, they are good quality & reliable for little $$$. I also am addicted to 1911s & they can be a bit more expensive. As far as caliber, my first pistol was a .40S&W (Bersa) but if I had been able to find one in .45, I'd have bought it instead. I finally had my LGS find a .45 for me. The .40 has a snappier recoil than the .45, so it'd be a matter of preference between the two, for you.
I also have a xdm In 9mm and love it. You will have to go to your LGS and hold and shoot some! 1911's pull alot of weight around here though (because they are amazing) so plan on checking some out.
Yeah I just join a rod and gun club and my buddy brought his s&w 9mm just to get me back in the swing of things. I enjoyed it very much. So I should stick to s&w , sig glock?
If your looking for a good caliber to shoot for fun, I suggest the .45 ACP. If your looking for a home defense caliber, I suggest the .380 ACP. If your looking for a CCW caliber, I suggest the .22 auto, Phoenix HP22. Basiclly, I suggest to get all three and back them up with a 12 gauge pump.
"They're on our right, they're on our left, they're in front of us, they're behind us; they can't get away from us this time." Chesty Puller, USMC, Chosin Reservoir, Korean War "You cannot exaggerate about the Marines. They are convinced to the point of arrogance, that they are the most ferocious fighters on earth - and the amusing thing about it is that they are." - Father Kevin Keaney, 1st MarDiv Chaplain, Korean War
My pistols, however, I always kept by me. Jesse James


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Evolving State Supervision: Issues Arising from State Qualification Standards and 'SAFE' Act Licensing, and Coordination with the CFPB
In The Cross-Hairs? Protecting Your Company Against Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Investigations and Investors' Mortgage Buyback Claims
The New Normal: Taking Responsibility for Your Vendors
Critical Mortgage Regulatory Updates by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for 2013 and 2014
A New World for Mortgage Banking – What You Need to Know About the CFPB's Final Mortgage Servicing Rules
What Next for the NLRB?
Corporate Law Report: Managing Cyber Risks, BYOD, Obama's NLRB Crisis, Iran Sanctions, and More
Corporate Law Report: U.S. Manufacturing, Social Media, Online Endorsements, Hart Scott Rodino, More
Courts recently issued three opinions on the whistleblower anti-retaliation provisions of the Dodd-Frank Act. In Murray v. UBS Securities, LLC, Mr. Murray claimed he was terminated because he refused to skew his...more
Why it matters - Alleged deceptive marketing by a mortgage lender to veterans was at the heart of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's (CFPB) latest enforcement action. NewDay Financial, LLC, "profited from the...more
Why it matters - Pursuant to a consent order entered into with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), Continental Finance Company must refund $2.7 million to approximately 98,000 customers and pay a $250,000...more
On February 26, 2015, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ("CFPB") published a proposed rule ("Proposed Rule") that would suspend for one year the requirement that credit card issuers submit their agreements to the CFPB...more
The House Financial Services Committee will hold a hearing tomorrow, March 3, entitled "The Semi-Annual Report of the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection" at which Director Cordray is expected to testify. The most recent...more
On February 18, Steven Antonakes, Deputy Director of the CFPB, delivered remarks before the Exchequer Club of Washington, D.C. regarding the CFPB's risk-focused supervision program. In his remarks, Antonakes identified two...more
We recently wrote about two studies, one by Professor Ronald Mann and the other by Professor Jennifer Lewis Priestley, that cast serious doubt on the benefit to payday loan borrowers of an ability-to-repay requirement and...more
The CFPB has issued a proposal to suspend for one year the Truth in Lending Act/Regulation Z requirement for issuers of open-end credit cards to send their credit card agreements to the CFPB quarterly for posting in a public...more
As he has done in prior years, Director Cordray spoke earlier this week to the National Association of Attorneys General. His prepared remarks focused on the familiar theme of "the four Ds" that create obstacles for consumers...more
Dodd-Frank created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ("CFPB") and granted that federal agency significant powers to regulate financial institutions. But Dodd-Frank also empowers state regulators to enforce the new...more
On February 23, 2015, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it will hold a field hearing in Newark, New Jersey, on March 10, 2015, to discuss the topic of arbitration. We anticipate that the CFPB will...more
Yesterday, the Obama administration called on the Department of Labor to draft rules that, in effect, would require brokers who provide retirement advice to abide by a fiduciary standard. In a speech at an event hosted by...more
On February 13, the FDIC released the third and final technical assistance video intended to assist bank employees to comply with certain mortgage rules issued by the CFPB. The final video addresses the Mortgage Servicing...more
On February 12, Congressmen Steve Stivers (R-OH) and Tim Walz (D-MN) re-introduced the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection-Inspector General Act of 2015, legislation that would create an independent IG position at the...more
The CFPB has announced that on Tuesday, March 10, 2015, it will hold a field hearing in Newark, N.J. on arbitration. The hearing will feature remarks from Director Cordray, as well as testimony from consumer groups, industry...more
In his prepared remarks for an appearance last week at the Exchequer Club, CFPB Deputy Director Steven Antonakes discussed the CFPB's risk-based approach to supervision. (The Exchequer Club's members include senior...more
In this issue: - Privacy and Data Security in Transactions: What's the Deal? - Consumer and Financial Institution Class Actions Survive Motions to Dismiss in Target Data Breach Litigation - California Amends...more
On February 19, 2015, the CFPB released its credit report study, entitled "Consumer voices on credit reports and scores." After conducting focus groups with 308 consumers in four major metropolitan areas, the study concludes...more
On February 12, the CFPB announced a civil suit against a Maryland-based mortgage company and consent orders with two additional mortgage companies headquartered in Utah and California for allegedly misleading consumers with...more
On February 12, 2015 the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky held that claims presented by the CFPB regarding a Kentucky-based law firm's alleged violations of Section 8 of the Real Estate Settlement...more
On February 5, 2015, the Federal Trade Commission sent a letter to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ("CFPB") describing its consumer protection efforts in 2014 in the area of debt collection. As reflected in the...more
On February 9, the CFPB released a report detailing complaints associated with reverse mortgages. According to the report, a high volume of complaints concern requests for changes to loan terms, issues related to loan...more
On February 10, 2015, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ("CFPB") added another company to its litany of alleged Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act ("RESPA") Section 8 offenders (Michigan Title, PHH Corporation, New...more
Isaac Boltansky of Compass Point has issued an estimated timeline for the CFPB's payday loan rulemaking that includes a July 2015 expected date for the CFPB's release of a proposed rule. Mr. Boltansky estimates that the CFPB...more
The CFPB has issued another Consent Order finding certain marketing and advertising services arrangements to violate RESPA's prohibition on kickbacks. The CFPB required the lender, NewDay Financial, LLC ("NewDay"), to pay a...more


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The Lodge and Spa at Callaway Gardens, Autograph Collection
Welcome to one of the finest destination resorts in the Southeast. Situated within 6,000 acres of lush vegetation, vibrant flora and preserved forest land, you will find a level of service and luxury that is vastly superior to any other accommodation in the region. Located near the world-renowned Callaway Gardens, The Lodge and Spa at Callaway Gardens is a true product of its gorgeous, organic surroundings.
Paying homage to the natural wonders that reside in the Appalachian foothills, craftsman-style exposed beams, fieldstone accents and hardwood floors in the lobby greet you upon arrival. Every room features a private balcony, allowing guests to start their day with a deep breath of the fresh air that inhabits Callaway Garden.
A convenient drive from Atlanta and many cities in the South, The Lodge and Spa at Callaway Gardens is the new standard for family vacations, weekend getaways, business retreats or social events.
Peppermint Spa Package
Rates from $199 per night
Valid : 12/07/2014 - 03/31/2015Pamper yourself this season with rest and relaxation for your mind and body. Find solace at our resort and immerse your skin in the luxury and efficacy of our most indulgent facial. This elegant experience brings together the power of Nutri-Define with the sophistication of our new Defining Facial Contouring technique, which uses precious stones to help cool, warm, and relax your skin.
This package includes overnight accommodations in one of our spacious guest rooms, 50-minute Nutri-Defense facial at Spa Prunifolia, and a complimentary Peppermint Foot and Body Cream. PROMO CODE: ZJ1706-489-3300
Please note, guests must call in advance to book appointment at Spa Prunifolia, 706-489-3305. This package is available Sunday through Friday until March 31, 2015. Package is not available for 10 or more rooms. 15USD resort fee is not included in rate. Tax and 25USD spa service charge are additional. Blackout dates apply and package is based on availability.
Room to Bloom Package
Packages starting at $189 per 2 people
Valid : 03/01/2015 - 05/31/2015As winter fades and the brightly-hued flowers begin to blossom, The Lodge and Spa at Callaway Gardens provides guests with spring inspired perks, including seeds to harvest and access to Callaway Gardens to savor springtime's breathtaking blossoms. This package includes:
- Refreshing overnight accommodations
- Budding Breakfast for up to 2 guests at Piedmont Grille
- Chefs-Choice Seasonal Welcome Amenity
- Gate and Gardens Admission for 2 to Callaway Gardens
- Seeds for Harvesting
- Complimentary Internet Access & Parking PROMO CODE: ZJ5706-489-3300
Please note, this package is available for stays from March 1 to May 31, 2015. Rate not valid for 10 or more rooms. Rate does not include taxes and gratuities, which will be assessed upon check out. Blackout dates apply and package is based on availability.
Stay for Breakfast Package
Free breakfast with night's stay
Valid : 07/28/2014 - 07/31/2015Enjoy breakfast on us for up to 2 adults and children 12 years old and under each day of your stay. Please note this package requires a Friday or Saturday night stay PROMO CODE: S4B
Requires a Friday or Saturday night stay. -
Deep Forest Serenity Spa Package
Free breakfast and $100 Spa Credit with night's stay
Valid : 07/28/2014 - 07/31/2015Escape at our garden resort with our Deep Forest Serenity package. This spa package includes all you need for a relaxing stay at The Lodge and Spa. Package includes:
Please note, guests must call Spa Prunifolia in advance for reservations, 706-489-3305. Any unused spa credit is non-refundable and Spa Credit does not include tax or gratuity.
* A deluxe guest room
* Buffet breakfast for 2 guests daily
* $100 Spa Credit for services at Spa Prunifolia
* Complimentary WiFi & Parking PROMO CODE: SPA -
Romance Getaway Package
Free champagne, strawberries and breakfast in bed with night's stay
Valid : 07/28/2014 - 07/31/2015Let your love bloom at The Lodge and Spa at Callaway Gardens! We invite you to enjoy a relaxing, romantic weekend away with our exclusive Romance Package. This package includes:
Breakfast includes two entrees from in-room dining menu and two non-alcoholic beverages.
* Deluxe guest room for two, with balcony
* Champagne and strawberries upon arrival
* Breakfast in bed for two, delivered by room service PROMO CODE: ZJ7 -
Kids Eat Free
Free kids meals with purchase of adult meal
Valid : 07/28/2014 - 12/31/2015Kids grow up so fast, so we invite you to spend some quality time at our Lodge and Spa. We'll take care of the kid's meals during your stay, you take care of the family fun!
This family package includes a guestroom with one king or two double beds and free meals in our restaurant for up to four children age 12 and under (Valid for breakfast, lunch and dinner, children's menu). PROMO CODE: MAJ706-489-3300
Children must be accompanied by one adult dining on regular menu.
Golf in the Gardens Package
Free golf with night's stay
Valid : 07/28/2014 - 12/31/2015Play at the world renowned Mountain View or Lake View course during your stay at The Lodge and Spa at Callaway Gardens. Grab your clubs, tee up and bring your best game for 18 holes on a beautiful course.
This golf package includes:
* Standard guestroom with one king or two double beds
* 18-holes round of golf daily
* Golf cart rental
* Use of Twin Oaks Practice Facility
* Breakfast at Piedmont Grille daily PROMO CODE: GOF
Celebrate Spring! at Callaway Gardens
03/21/2015 - 04/25/2015
Spring is the most glorious time of year at Callaway Gardens. 20,000 azaleas in splendid bloom, mountain laurel, dogwoods, daffodils and daisies provide the backdrop for exciting activities, workshops and guided hikes. Celebrate the beauty of Spring at Callaway Gardens with many family activities among the flowers. Each day offers something unique and a great reason to be outside.
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Callaway Gardens Annual Plant Fair and Sale
03/26/2015 - 03/29/2015
Head to Callaway Gardens with a plant list and a vehicle large enough to take home all of the great finds from the Callaway Gardens Plant Fair and Sale, March 27-31. Choose from garden-décor, gardening books and tools, as well as an array of flowering plants and shrubs, including many unique varieties and native plants that thrive in the Southeast. In addition to Callaway Gardens' plants and specialty items, 17 other nurseries and specialty vendors from throughout the Southeast will have pla...
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Easter Egg Hunts, Sunrise Service and Brunch at Callaway Gardens
04/04/2015 - 04/05/2015
Visit Callaway Gardens on Easter weekend for egg hunts, buffet meals, a sunrise service and the natural beauty of the gardens.
All ages are invited to participate in the Callaway Gardens Easter Egg Hunts on Saturday, April 4, 2015, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Robin Lake Beach. The Easter Bunny will visit from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. Egg hunts are free with admission to Callaway Gardens.
The Easter Sunrise Service will be Sunday, April 5, at 7:00 a.m. at the Ski Pavilion. The natural bea...
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Sky High Hot Air Balloon Festival at Callaway Gardens
09/04/2015 - 09/06/2015
The Sky High Hot Air Balloon Festival at Callaway Gardens is highlighted by the extraordinary vision of a balloon glow on Friday evening, and morning and evening flights on Saturday and Sunday. Between balloon launches, the days are filled with entertainment, family activities, exhibits, demonstrations, music and more.
Activities include swimming, blaster boats, Aqua Island, miniature golf, table tennis, shuffleboard, arts and crafts, rock climbing wall (fee charged), spider jump (fee ...
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More Resources
Meeting Rooms
Name Dimensions Ceiling Ht Sq. Feet Banquet Cap. Theater Cap. Classroom Cap. U-Shaped Cap. Exhibit Cap. Conference Cap. Reception Cap. Longleaf Ballroom 60' x 116' 16' to 18' 7000.0 575 750 425 - - - 725 Loblolly Ballroom 48' x 83' 14' - 16' 4080.0 300 420 250 - - - 410 Cypress Conference Room 49' x 31' 11' 1519.0 100 160 80 40 - - 155 Sourwood Boardroom 20' x 24' 8'9 450.0 - - - - - 12 - Bayberry Breakout Rooms 1 & 2 40' x 24' 8'9 900.0 40 75 40 20 - 20 110 Bayberry Breakout Rooms 3 & 4 40' x 24' 8'9 900.0 40 75 40 20 - 20 110