Computer Sketchpad (1963)

Computer Sketchpad (1963)                                                               

 

First 3D wireframe animation

 

Black and white film

Video

Trivia:

1) Ivan Sutherland presented "Sketchpad" in 1962 in his dissertation: Points could be marked on a monitor. Then an analogue computer (Lincoln TX-2, since 1957) followed instructions to build either lines or circles between the points. For the choice of instructions a little box with knobs stood beside the computers manual. With "Sketchpad" it became easier to accomplish two-dimensional drawings or plans with many repeated or varied elements. Sutherlands interface was planned to allow an easy application. "Sketchpad" was one of the early user-friendly human-computer interfaces.

2) Sketchpad is considered to be the ancestor of modern computer-aided drafting (CAD) programs as well as a major breakthrough in the development of computer graphics in general.

3) In 1968 Ivan Sutherland creates first in history augmented reality glasses - The Sword of Damocles

(link to my site about videogames history).

4) A wire-frame model is a visual presentation of a 3-dimensional (3D) or physical object used in 3D computer graphics. It is created by specifying each edge of the physical object where two mathematically continuous smooth surfaces meet, or by connecting an object's constituent vertices using straight lines or curves.