CUBE — An Architecture Based on a 3D Voxel Map

Abstract

The CUBE Architecture, a voxel-based architecture for three-dimensional graphics, is presented. It is organized around a three-dimensional (3D) cubic frame-buffer of voxels, with three processors which access the buffer to input, manipulate and project the 3D images. A 3D geometry processor scan-converts 3D geometric objects into their voxel representation. A 3D frame-buffer processor manipulates 3D subcubes of the memory, channels sampled data from 3D scanners into the buffer, and controls 3D interaction. A 3D viewing processor displays 2D shaded projections of the 3D images. In order to cope with the huge quantity of voxels and the real-time constraints, two additional features have been incorporated within the architecture: a unique memory organization which permits the simultaneous retrieval and storage of all the voxels of a row, and a special multiple-write bus which speeds up the viewing process. The architecture is a framework for an integrated 3D workstation, which provides creation, manipulation and viewing of 3D images for a variety of applications.