High-quality rendering of quartic spline surfaces on the GPU

We present a novel GPU-based algorithm for high-quality rendering of bivariate spline surfaces. An essential difference to the known methods for rendering graph surfaces is that we use quartic smooth splines on triangulations rather than triangular meshes. Our rendering approach is direct in the sense that since we do not use an intermediate tessellation but rather compute ray-surface intersections (by solving quartic equations numerically) as well as surface normals (by using Bernstein-Bézier techniques) for Phong illumination on the GPU. Inaccurate shading and artifacts appearing for triangular tesselated surfaces are completely avoided. Level of detail is automatic since all computations are done on a per fragment basis. We compare three different (quasi-) interpolating schemes for uniformly sampled gridded data, which differ in the smoothness and the approximation properties of the splines. The results show that our hardware based renderer leads to visualizations (including texturing, multiple light sources, environment mapping, etc.) of highest quality.     

基于表面微结构与BRDF的真实感渲染

物体表面细微结构(Mesostructure)对于表现物体表面的形状起着非常重要的作用。如何有效表现物体的表面微结构一直都是计算机图形学领域研究的一个重要课题。文中提出了一种基于光线跟踪的表面微结构渲染方法。该方法通过首先构造一张表面微结构的网格,然后在该网格上进行光线跟踪决定表面微结构上的自阴影和遮挡,最后使用测量得到的BRDF数据确定表面在不同视角和光线角度下的反射系数,能很真实地渲染出物体表面的细微结构和光泽特性。     

GPU加速的光滑轮廓线绘制

轮廓线的高效提取是非真实感绘制的一个关键问题。提出了一个完全利用GPU生成光滑轮廓线的高效算法。在几何处理阶段,先根据相邻三角形的法向量与视向量的关系检测出轮廓线,然后对轮廓线进行宽度扩充,同时对轮廓线顶点设置相应的渐变因子;在像素处理阶段把渐变因子转化为相应的alpha值,通过光照生成卡通渲染,最后通过alpha混合得到光滑轮廓线。算法完全在GPU里实现,能满足实时的绘制要求。     

Multi-resolution terrain rendering with GPU tessellation

GPU tessellation is very efficient and is reshaping the terrain-rendering paradigm. We present a novel terrain-rendering algorithm based on GPU tessellation. The planar domain of the terrain is partitioned into a set of tiles, and a coarse-grained quadtree is constructed for each tile using a screen-space error metric. Then, each node of the quadtree is input to the GPU pipeline together with its own tessellation factors. The nodes are tessellated and the vertices of the tessellated mesh are displaced by filtering the displacement maps. The multi-resolution scheme is designed to optimize the use of GPU tessellation. Further, it accepts not only height maps but also geometry images, which displace more vertices toward the higher curvature feature parts of the terrain surface such that the surface detail can be well reconstructed with a small number of vertices. The efficiency of the proposed method is proven through experiments on large terrain models. When the screen-space error threshold is set to a pixel, a terrain surface tessellated into 8.5 M triangles is rendered at 110 fps on commodity PCs.     

基于GPU的动态头发渲染

运用模拟头发运动的系统计算头发阴影的阴影生成算法和一个通过每一串头发来模拟光线散射的发射模型,就可以创建出极其真实的头发影像。渲染结果表明,利用以上方法可以渲染出极其逼真的头发。     

GPU加速的八叉树体绘制算法

提出一种针对物体空间为序体绘制的空域跳过算法：采用双层次空间跳过,先以规则的数据分块作粗略地跳过,再以八叉树获得更高粒度的优化。该方法进一步解决了超过可用纹理内存容量的大规模体数据实时绘制问题,允许实时改变传递函数。针对该算法引入的CPU高负载瓶颈,提出一种新算法,在图形处理器(GPU)内快速计算采样面片,平衡了CPU与GPU间的运算负载。结合上述两种算法,实现高效的大规模体数据绘制并无损图像质量。     

基于GPU图像直接体绘制算法分析与评价

近年来计算机图形硬件性能不断提高,利用硬件来实现体绘制过程中的某些环节以获取交互的绘制速率成为可能,是目前体绘制的研究热点。描述了基于GPU的光线投射法、2D纹理映射法和3D纹理映射法等典型算法,给出了各类算法的分析与性能评价,最后实现相关算法并得出实验结果。     

基于GPU的点模型实时绘制

近几年随着GPU的可编程能力的增强,很多基于点的绘制算法都可以移植到GPU上来实现,这样既可以让CPU有时间来处理其他事,又可以通过GPU提高算法的运行速度。由于目前的GPU不支持epsilon-z-buffering算法,大部分基于GPU的绘制算法都是通过Multi-pass绘制来达到较高的绘制质量。然而,这些算法需要在第一和第二个pass中光栅化大量的可能可见的面圆,并在第二个pass的像素shader中对这些可能可见的面圆进行大量的计算。本文提出了一种基于GPU的改进Multi-pass绘制算法,与前面的Multi-pass算法相比,我们的算法只需在第一个pass中对大量可能可见的面圆进行光栅化和深度测试后,便可求出所有可见面圆,即离视点最近的面圆。然后在第二个pass中只对这些可见面圆进行光栅化和逐像素计算,从而避免了大量不必要的计算。     

基于GPU的医学图像快速面绘制

提出了一种医学图像快速面绘制的方法,该方法将新一代图形处理器GeForce 8800的特性和MC（Marching Cubes）算法相结合。利用几何着色器的数据批处理能力在每个立方体中提取等值面并生成三角形带;在片段着色器上采用Phong光照模型对生成三角形渲染显示。建模和显示过程均在GPU上完成,对CPU的依赖低。实验表明,在保证绘制效果的前提下,该方法可在通用PC平台上实现大小为512×512×400的CT数据的实时建模,有很好的实用价值。     

A GPU persistent grid mapping for terrain rendering

In this paper we present persistent grid mapping (PGM), a novel framework for interactive view-dependent terrain rendering. Our algorithm is geared toward high utilization of modern GPUs, and takes advantage of ray tracing and mesh rendering. The algorithm maintains multiple levels of the elevation and color maps to achieve a faithful sampling of the viewed region. The rendered mesh ensures the absence of cracks and degenerate triangles that may cause the appearance of visual artifacts. In addition, an external texture memory support is provided to enable the rendering of terrains that exceed the size of texture memory. Our experimental results show that the PGM algorithm provides high quality images at steady frame rates. Electronic supplementary material Supplementary material is available in the online version of this article at and is accessible for authorized users.     

使用GPU加速渲染真实感水波效果的研究

为了提高水面波动效果模拟的实时性并保持真实感,提出一种基于可编程图形处理器(GPU)的向量代数运算模型,并使用该模型求解水波动方程以加速水波仿真过程.给出了模型的数据结构定义和数据操作设计,对二维水波微分方程进行离散化处理,将其表达为矩阵矢量相乘的形式,再采取共轭梯度法进行求解,以获得代表水面的高度图.通过高度图信息来生成法线,从而获得水面反射和折射效果.实验结果表明,该算法充分发挥了GPU的高速性能优势来求解复杂的水面波动方程,能有效提高真实感水波纹模拟的效率.     

Parallel rendering of fractal surfaces

Fractal surfaces are a sueful modeling technique for terrain in computer graphics. Although an algorithm exists for ray tracing (Mandelbrot) fractal surfaces, the technique is computationally very expensive. The large degree of parallelism inherent in the problem suggests the use of parallel architectures for generating these images. We describe a parallel rendering algorithm for shared memory MIMD machines which takes advantage of image coherence to reduce computation. This algorithm has, on a Sequent Balance 2100 with 20 processors, demonstrated a near-linear speedup. We examine the possible synchronization bottlenecks by statically assigning different numbers of CPUs to sections of the screen.This work was supported in part by DARPA under contract MDA903-86-C-0182.     

基于GPU的海浪特效实时渲染

对于海浪特效的模拟能有效增强海洋场景仿真的真实感,模拟的实时性也是海洋场景仿真系统的重要需求之一.为了实现基于GPU的海浪特效实时渲染,以PM海浪谱为基础进行了研究,从而生成海浪高度场,并结合视相关反投影方法生成海浪网格,采用硬件着色器进行基于物理光照模型的实时光照处理,生成了具有较强真实感的海面效果,较好地满足了时渲染场景实时性和真实感的要求,达到了实时视景仿真系统中对海洋模块的实时仿真要求.     

GPU实现的快速分层地形渲染算法

随着GPU性能的飞速提升,越来越多的地形渲染算法能够完全由GPU实现.本文提出了一种新的完全基于GPU的地形渲染算法.该算法使用顶点着色器完成中间数据生成,在几何着色器中使用之前生成的信息完成地形的LOD操作和网格的动态生成.该算法不仅具有易于在GPU上实现的特点,同时能够提供无缝的、自适应地形起伏的渲染效果.这也顺应了图形学的主流:将图形计算或对几何体的操作从CPU转移到GPU上,从而做到无需CPU的干预,降低数据传输量,节约通信带宽的目的.实验证明,该算法适合于处理较大规模地形块.     

基于GPU Raycasting算法的矢量/栅格混合绘制研究*

Raycasting体绘制算法由于成像质量高而被广泛应用于体数据的可视化,但当线、面表达的矢量数据和三维栅格表达的体数据同时绘制到同一场景时,由于绘制方法的差异会造成矢量和栅格数据空间遮挡关系不一致。在GPU实现Raycasting算法的基础上,通过矢量和栅格数据先后绘制,采用FBO离屏绘制等技术将矢量数据绘制到深度缓存纹理并在体绘制采样和融合中统一考虑矢栅颜色融合。实验结果表明,该算法在矢量数据非透明模式下能正确处理矢量栅格数据的混合绘制。     

Sinus endoscopy--application of advanced GPU volume rendering for virtual endoscopy

For difficult cases in endoscopic sinus surgery, a careful planning of the intervention is necessary. Due to the reduced field of view during the intervention, the surgeons have less information about the surrounding structures in the working area compared to open surgery. Virtual endoscopy enables the visualization of the operating field and additional information, such as risk structures (e.g., optical nerve and skull base) and target structures to be removed (e.g., mucosal swelling). The Sinus Endoscopy system provides the functional range of a virtual endoscopic system with special focus on a realistic representation. Furthermore, by using direct volume rendering, we avoid time-consuming segmentation steps for the use of individual patient datasets. However, the image quality of the endoscopic view can be adjusted in a way that a standard computer with a modern standard graphics card achieves interactive frame rates with low CPU utilization. Thereby, characteristics of the endoscopic view are systematically used for the optimization of the volume rendering speed. The system design was based on a careful analysis of the endoscopic sinus surgery and the resulting needs for computer support. As a small standalone application it can be instantly used for surgical planning and patient education. First results of a clinical evaluation with ENT surgeons were employed to fine-tune the user interface, in particular to reduce the number of controls by using appropriate default values wherever possible. The system was used for preoperative planning in 102 cases, provides useful information for intervention planning (e.g., anatomic variations of the Rec. Frontalis), and closely resembles the intraoperative situation.     

Geocube – GPU accelerated real-time rendering of transparency and translucency

We present a new method based on GPU acceleration for real-time transparency and translucency rendering. Our method computes refraction at both the front and back sides of a transparent object, as well as internal reflection, thus delivering interactive realistic transparency effects on a commodity PC. The real-time performance is made possible by a new acceleration data structure, called geocube, that enables the use of GPU for fast ray-surface intersection testing. In addition, within the same framework, we introduce the novel use of the mip-map for a hierarchical representation of a sequence of key prefiltered environment maps to simulate translucency. By taking ray depth into account and using GPU to interpolate the key filtered maps to produce the desired blurring effects, we achieve real-time realistic translucency rendering of slightly scattering media that allows show-through of background details.     

GPU-based rendering of point-sampled water surfaces

Particle-based simulations are widely used to simulate fluids. We present a real-time rendering method for the results of particle-based simulations of water. Traditional approaches to visualize the results of particle-based simulations construct water surfaces that are usually represented by polygons. To construct water surfaces from the results of particle-based simulations, a density function is assigned to each particle and a density field is computed by accumulating the values of the density functions of all particles. However, the computation of the density field is time consuming. To address this problem, we propose an efficient calculation of density field using a graphics processing unit (GPU). We present a rendering method for water surfaces sampled by points. The use of the GPU permits efficient simulation of optical effects, such as refraction, reflection, and caustics.     

A generic and scalable pipeline for GPU tetrahedral grid rendering

Recent advances in algorithms and graphics hardware have opened the possibility to render tetrahedral grids at interactive rates on commodity PCs. This paper extends on this work in that it presents a direct volume rendering method for such grids which supports both current and upcoming graphics hardware architectures, large and deformable grids, as well as different rendering options. At the core of our method is the idea to perform the sampling of tetrahedral elements along the view rays entirely in local barycentric coordinates. Then, sampling requires minimum GPU memory and texture access operations, and it maps efficiently onto a feed-forward pipeline of multiple stages performing computation and geometry construction. We propose to spawn rendered elements from one single vertex. This makes the method amenable to upcoming Direct3D 10 graphics hardware which allows to create geometry on the GPU. By only modifying the algorithm slightly it can be used to render per-pixel iso-surfaces and to perform tetrahedral cell projection. As our method neither requires any pre-processing nor an intermediate grid representation it can efficiently deal with dynamic and large 3D meshes.     

基于二叉树和GPU的无缝地形场景渲染方法

设计了一种基于图形处理器(GPU)的无缝地形渲染方法。该方法基于二叉树构建多层次地形网格,该网格用基于行、列号的地形模板表示。在设计过程中,将高程数据转化为适于GPU读取的高程纹理图,再通过顶点纹理提取(VTF)技术从纹理图中采样出高程值用于渲染,整个过程在GPU端完成,提升了地形数据访问效率。同时,采用实时优化自适应网格(ROAM)算法的强制拆分法,通过控制相邻地形块的等级来消除裂缝。最后,采用TriangleStrip方式进行渲染,避免了相邻三角形中顶点坐标数据的重复传递,减少了传递到GPU的数据量。用两块地形数据对算法渲染效率进行了检验,并将算法与Clipmap算法进行了帧率对比。结果表明,该算法有效解决了分块数据的裂缝问题,达到了交互式地形渲染的要求。