Data-parallel, volume-rendering algorithms

Roni Yagel, Raghu Machiraju

Abstract: In this presentation, we consider the image-composition scheme for parallel volume rendering in which each processor is assigned a portion of the volume. A processor renders its data by using any existing volume-rendering algorithm. We describe one such parallel algorithm that also takes advantage of vector-processing capabilities. The resulting images from all processors are then combined (composited) in visibility order to form the final image. The major advantage of this approach is that, as viewing and shading parameters change, only 2D partial images, and not 3D volume data, are communicated among processors. Through experimental results and performance analysis, we show that our parallel algorithm is amenable to extremely efficient implementations on distributed memory, multiple instruction-multiple data (MIMD), vector-processor architectures. This algorithm is also very suitable for hardware implementation based on image composition architectures. It supports various volume-rendering algorithms, and it can be extended to provide load-balanced execution.