Quote:Original post by emforce
Ok, so I have been wondering about this for a while now. You know how big corporations like nvidia bring out graphics samples in directx 10 etc... well who programs these? Where can you find these problems to solve?

Nvidia program these.

I don't think that's the answer you're looking for. But that's because your question is a bit vague!

Often what you see in these samples is a real-time hardware accelerated version of an algorithm some researcher published at SIGGRAPH 15 or 20 years ago which used to take 5 minutes to produce a single frame.

Quote:Also, what sort of things do researchers look into in Universities and places like that? Are they just aiming to create photorealistic simulations which are as optimized as possible?

They're not just aiming to do any one thing. Some will be trying to create photorealism. Others will be interested in optimisation. Some may be focused on practical applications and aiming for workable compromises. They may be trying to simulate some other method or process, eg. captured on film, viewed through lenses, as the colourblind see, etc. Some may have some external goal or influence that dictates their research aims, eg. developing for the military, the disabled, for children, for education, for the psychology of vision, etc.