LDS-1 (Line Drawing System-1)
LDS-1 was a calligraphic display processor and display device created by Evans & Sutherland. This was the first graphics device with a graphics processing unit.Features
It was controlled by a variety of host computers. Straight lines were smoothly rendered in real-time animation. General principles of operation were similar to the systems used today: 4x4 transformation matrices, 1x4 vertices. Possible uses included flight simulation, scientific imaging and GIS systems.History
The first LDS-1 was shipped to the customer in August 1969.
Only a few of these systems were ever built. One was used by the Los Angeles Times as their first typesetting/layout computer. One went to NASA Ames Research Center for Human Factors Research. Another was bought by the Port Authority of New York to develop a tugboat pilot trainer for navigation in the harbor. The MIT Dynamic Modeling had one, and there was a program for viewing an ongoing game of Maze War.
