Abstract
Processing and visualizing large scale volumetric and geometric datasets is mission critical in an increasing number of applications in academic research as well as in commercial enterprise. Often the datasets are, or can be processed to become, sparse. In this paper, we present VoxLink, a novel approach to render sparse volume data in a memory-efficient manner enabling interactive rendering on common, offthe- shelf graphics hardware. Our approach utilizes current GPU architectures for voxelizing, storing, and visualizing such datasets. It is based on the idea of perpixel linked lists (ppLL), an A-buffer implementation for order-independent transparency rendering. The method supports voxelization and rendering of dense semi-transparent geometry, sparse volume data, and implicit surface representations with a unified data structure. The proposed data structure also enables efficient simulation of global lighting effects such as reflection, refraction, and shadow ray evaluation.
Highlights
Nowadays, datasets obtained from measurements, modeling, simulations, or other sources grow larger and larger in size
We present our research on rendering and storing sparse data with the VoxLink approach—a spatial data structure based on linked voxels
We extend the concept of per-pixel linked lists [1], using it for voxelization, voxelbased rendering, and the visualization of sparse volume data
Summary
Datasets obtained from measurements, modeling, simulations, or other sources grow larger and larger in size Regardless of their origin, these large datasets have to be processed and visualized, pushing the limits of available hardware. Manuscript received: 2015-12-01; accepted: 2015-12-09 cases, the original raw data contains much information which is of no interest in the subsequent processing or visualization steps. In contrast and as extensions to existing approaches, VoxLink can render meshes, volumes, and implicit surfaces by storing the voxels internally in linked lists. It displays volumes combined with rasterized data and uses ray tracing for rendering and visualizing global lighting effects
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