In architecture and in many branches of engineering, prior to the development
of computer-assisted design and manufacture (CAD/CAM), the ‘distorting’ nature
of the forms of projective geometry used in cartography was circumvented through
the use of orthographic projection (as developed by Monge in the late eighteenth
century; see Bessot 1996) in which several 2D views of the object (often referred
to as front, side, and plan elevation) are utilized instead of a single view. With the
development of CAD/CAM, 3D modeling became possible – first through a
2D-to-3D paradigm (whereby the 3D object is built up from 2D objects) and more
recently through the use of new geometric forms (including grid-like polygonal
subdivisions of surfaces known as ‘meshes’ and curves in 3D space defined by control points known as ‘splines’), assisted, at times, by the use of a 3D input device
(rather than the usual mouse on the 2D plane).