Skip to main content

Algorithmically Optimised Real-Time Volume Rendering

  • Chapter
Volume Graphics

Abstract

Volume rendering is a time-consuming application. For example, real-time applications demand several billion operations per second since each voxel in an nxnxn volume dataset is to be processed. Algorithmic optimisations can mitigate this problem by restricting the calculation of light matter interaction to only those voxels that contribute to the final image. Two of the most frequently used approaches are space-leaping and early-ray termination. These algorithmic optimisations can reduce the complexity of the volume rendering algorithm for nxnxn volumes from O(n 3) to O(n 2) if the dataset has only few semi-transparent voxels.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 39.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 54.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  1. Levoy M. Display of surfaces from volume data. IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications, 1988; 8 (5): 29–37.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Lichtermann J. Design of a fast voxel processor for parallel volume visualization. In: Proc. the 10th Eurographics Workshop on Graphics Hardware, Maastricht, The Netherlands, 1995; 83–92.

    Google Scholar 

  3. Lacroute P, Levoy M. Fast volume rendering using a shear-warp factorization of the viewing transform. In: Proc. SIGGRAPH ’94, Orlando, FL, 1994; 451–457.

    Google Scholar 

  4. Brady M, Jung K, Nguyen HT, Nguyen T. Two-phase perspective ray casting for interactive volume navigation. In: Proc. IEEE Visualization ’97, Phoenix, AZ, 1997; 183–189.

    Google Scholar 

  5. Knittel G. A PCI-based volume rendering accelerator. In: Proc. the 10th Eurographics Workshop on Graphics Hardware, Maastricht, The Netherlands, 1995; 73–82.

    Google Scholar 

  6. Günther T, Poliwoda C, Reinhart C, Hesser J, Manner R, Meinzer H-P, Baur H- J. VIRIM: A massively parallel processor for real-time volume visualization in Medicine. In: Proc. the 9th Eurographics Workshop on Graphics Hardware, Oslo, Norway, 1994; 103–108.

    Google Scholar 

  7. Pfister H-P. Towards a scalable architecture for real-time volume rendering. In: Proc. the 10th Eurographics Workshop on Graphics Hardware, Maastricht, The Netherlands, 1995; 123–130.

    Google Scholar 

  8. Zuiderveld KJ, Koning AH, Viergever MA. Acceleration of ray-casting using 3D distance transforms. In: Proc. Prlc. Visualization in Biomedical Computing, Chapel Hill, 1992; 324–335.

    Google Scholar 

  9. Van Scheltinga JT, Smit J, Bosma M. Design of an on-chip reflectance map. In: Proc. the 10th EuroGraphics Workshop on Graphics Hardware, Maastricht, 1995; 51–55.

    Google Scholar 

  10. Knittel G, StraBer W. A compact volume rendering accelerator. In: Proc. Symposium on Volume Visualization, 1994, ACP press, NY; 67–74.

    Google Scholar 

  11. Foley JD, van Dam A, Feiner SK, Hughes JF. Computer Graphics: Principles and Practice, 2nd Ed., Addison Wesley, Reading, MA, 1990.

    Google Scholar 

  12. Chaudhry G, Li X. A case for the multithread processor architecture. Computer Architecture News, 1994; 22 (4): 9.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2000 Springer-Verlag London

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Vettermann, B., Hesser, J., Männer, R. (2000). Algorithmically Optimised Real-Time Volume Rendering. In: Chen, M., Kaufman, A.E., Yagel, R. (eds) Volume Graphics. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-0737-8_19

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-0737-8_19

  • Publisher Name: Springer, London

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-85233-192-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4471-0737-8

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics