Explain linear algebra for graphics transforms
Company: NVIDIA
Role: Software Engineer
Category: Statistics & Math
Difficulty: medium
Interview Round: Take-home Project
Explain the model-view-projection (MVP) pipeline using homogeneous coordinates. Derive how a 3D point in world space is transformed to normalized device coordinates and then to screen space. Why are normals transformed by the inverse-transpose of the model matrix? Provide a concrete numeric example.
Quick Answer: This question evaluates mastery of linear algebra for graphics transforms, covering homogeneous coordinates, the model–view–projection (MVP) pipeline, clip-space to NDC mapping, viewport/screen-space conversion, and correct normal transformation via the inverse-transpose of the model (or model-view) matrix.