Abstract
The PGPGrid project aims to parallelize the process of extracting range data from an experimental 3D scanner using the Grid as a vehicle for accessing necessary resources. The application is potentially highly parallel but has some unusual features such as rapid spawning of processes in real time and a dynamic interβprocess network topology. These characteristics are such as to require enhancement of the usual task migration capabilities of the Globus toolkit. The present paper initially discusses attempts to estimate the real parallelizability of the scanner application. It then describes a new Java application programming interface, based on Milner's $\pi$βcalculus, which could be used to extend Globus in a manner capable of supporting systems with this kind of dynamic parallel structure. The location of processing resources for the $\pi$βcalculus is done using a Webβservicesβbased resource locator. The article also describes the pipeline of processing from initial stereo photogrametry to the final production of animation models. A key step in this is the conformation of animators models to the data obtained by the realβtime scanner. Algorithmic innovations in this process are described. Copyright Β© 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.