Macintosh II true-color visual simulation project. A proposed elevated rall system for Metropolitan Phoenix

Utilizing new high-resolution, 24-bit true-color technology available for the Macintosh II microcomputer, this project enabled professional consultants and the public to visualize a proposed eight-billion dollar, one-hundred mile elevated light-rail system planned for Metropolitan Phoenix. This project studied visual impacts and integration scenarios for various existing and proposed segments of the transit system. The technique developed was first to scan color photographic prints of scenes from the real world, then to superimpose a perspective generated from a three-dimensional model of the proposed elevated guideway, and finally to render the composite digital image to produce a final photo-realistic scene. The project was sponsored by the Regional Public Transportation Authority and was jointly undertaken by the College of Architecture and Environmental Design at Arizona State University and Kaiser Engineers and Architects of Tempe, Arizona.