An asynchronous method for cloud-based rendering

Abstract

Interactive high-fidelity rendering is still unachievable on many consumer devices. Cloud gaming services have shown promise in delivering interactive graphics beyond the individual capabilities of user devices. However, a number of shortcomings are manifest in these systems: high network bandwidths are required for higher resolutions and input lag due to network fluctuations heavily disrupts user experience. In this paper, we present a scalable solution for interactive high-fidelity graphics based on a distributed rendering pipeline where direct lighting is computed on the client device and indirect lighting in the cloud. The client device keeps a local cache for indirect lighting which is asynchronously updated using an object space representation; this allows us to achieve interactive rates that are unconstrained by network performance for a wide range of display resolutions that are also robust to input lag. Furthermore, in multi-user environments, the computation of indirect lighting is amortised over participating clients.