David Koller's Stanford Home Page

David Koller
Stanford Computer Science Department & Computer Graphics Laboratory

Email: david.koller@cs.stanford.edu
Web: http://graphics.stanford.edu/~dk/
Note: I am not the drummer/vocalist from the Czech rock band.

Research

My research activities are in the areas of computer graphics, visualization, computer vision, and human-computer interaction. I've been particularly interested in the acquisition, analysis, and interactive display of large graphical datasets. Some specific research projects, with links to papers and websites, are included below.

3D Scanning of Large Statues

We developed systems for digitizing the 3D shape and appearance of large cultural heritage objects, and then processing and archiving the resulting immense 3D datasets. This project included a year in Italy, scanning well-known works such as Michelangelo's David.

The Digital Michelangelo Project
Levoy, M., Pulli, K., Curless, B., Rusinkiewicz, S., Koller, D., Pereira, L., Ginzton, M., Anderson, S., Davis, J., Ginsberg, J., Shade, J., and Fulk, D., The Digital Michelangelo Project: 3D Scanning of Large Statues, Proc. ACM SIGGRAPH 2000, pp. 131-144.

Computational Archaeology

In another 3D scanning project, we digitized all 1200 of the extant fragments of the Severan Marble Plan. This huge marble map of ancient Rome, dating from the early 3rd century AD, is a primary source of knowledge of the city's topography. Archaeologists have been trying to piece the fragments back together for centuries, and I've been developing computer algorithms to help solve this giant "jigsaw puzzle," yielding a number of exciting new discoveries in the reconstruction of the map.

Digital Forma Urbis Romae Project website and database
Koller, D., and Levoy, M., Computer-aided Reconstruction and new Matches in the Forma Urbis Romae, Bullettino della Commissione Archeologica comunale di Roma, Supplementi 15, pp. 103-125, 2006.
Koller, D., Trimble, J., Najbjerg, T., Gelfand, N., and Levoy, M., Fragments of the City: Stanford's Digital Forma Urbis Romae Project, Proc. Third Williams Symposium on Classical Architecture, Journal of Roman Archaeology Suppl. 61, 2006.

Protected Interactive 3D Graphics

Computer graphics content such as 3D models represents increasingly valuable intellectual property. In this work, we have developed new digital rights management (DRM) techniques for protecting 3D models from piracy, while still allowing interactive use. Our approaches have been used to share and secure some of the most prominent 3D model archives of cultural heritage works.

ScanView protected 3D viewer software
Koller, D., Turitzin, M., Levoy, M., Tarini, M., Croccia, G., Cignoni, P., and Scopigno, R., Protected Interactive 3D Graphics Via Remote Rendering, Proc. ACM SIGGRAPH 2004, pp. 695-703.
Koller, D., and Levoy, M., Protecting 3D Graphics Content, Communications of the ACM, 48(6):74-80, June 2005.
J. Zhu, J.Z. Bakdash, D. Koller, T. Banton, D.R. Proffitt, and G. Humphreys, Quantifying Usability in Secure Graphics: Assessing the User Costs of Protecting 3D Content, Proc. APGV 2008, pp. 91-96.

Visualization of Large Geospatial Datasets

In this work, we designed new algorithms and built systems for real-time visualization of huge, high-resolution geospatial datasets. As PC graphics capabilities continue to evolve, I've been adapting these data management and rendering techniques for new visualization applications in the engineering and entertainment industries.

Koller, D., Lindstrom, P., Ribarsky, W., Hodges, L.F., Faust, N., and Turner, G., "Virtual GIS: A Real-time 3D Geographic Information System," Proc. IEEE Visualization 1995, pp. 94-100.
Lindstrom, P., Koller, D., Ribarsky, W., Hodges, L.F., Faust, N., and Turner, G., Real-time Continuous Level of Detail Rendering of Height Fields, Proc. ACM SIGGRAPH 1996, pp. 109-118.
Lindstrom, P., Koller, D., Ribarsky, W., Hodges, L.F., Op den Bosch, A., and Faust, N., An Integrated Global GIS and Visual Simulation System, Tech. Rep. GIT-GVU-97-07, 1997.

User Interfaces for Immersive Virtual Environments

I've been interested in 3D and immersive virtual reality user interfaces for a long time. This work proposed some new interaction techniques for immersive environments, and attempted to evaluate their efficacy via rigorous user studies.

Koller, D., Mine, M., and Hudson, S., "Head-Tracked Orbital Viewing: An Interaction Technique for Immersive Virtual Environments," Proc. ACM UIST 1996.
Bowman, D.A., Koller, D., and Hodges, L.F., Travel in Immersive Virtual Environments: An Evaluation of Viewpoint Motion Control Techniques, Proc. IEEE Virtual Reality (VRAIS 97), 1997, pp. 45-53.
Bowman, D.A., Koller, D., and Hodges, L.F., A Methodology for the Evaluation of Travel Techniques for Immersive Virtual Environments, Virtual Reality, vol. 3., no. 2., 1998, pp. 120-131.