TetSplat: Real-time Rendering and Volume Clipping of Large Unstructured Tetrahedral Meshes

We present a novel approach to interactive visualization and exploration of large unstructured tetrahedral meshes. These massive 3D meshes are used in mission-critical CFD and structural mechanics simulations, and typically sample multiple field values on several millions of unstructured grid points. Our method relies on the pre-processing of the tetrahedral mesh to partition it into non-convex boundaries and internal fragments that are subsequently encoded into compressed multi-resolution data representations. These compact hierarchical data structures are then adaptively rendered and probed in real-time on a commodity PC. Our point-based rendering algorithm, which is inspired by QSplat, employs a simple but highly efficient splatting technique that guarantees interactive frame-rates regardless of the size of the input mesh and the available rendering hardware. It furthermore allows for real-time probing of the volumetric data-set through constructive solid geometry operations as well as interactive editing of color transfer functions for an arbitrary number of field values. Thus, the presented visualization technique allows end-users for the first time to interactively render and explore very large unstructured tetrahedral meshes on relatively inexpensive hardware

Real-time rendering and physics of complex dynamic terrains modeled as CSG trees of DEMs carved with spheres

We present a novel proposal for modeling complex dynamic terrains that offers real-time rendering, dynamic updates and physical interaction of entities simultaneously. We can capture any feature from landscapes including tunnels, overhangs and caves, and we can conduct a total destruction of the terrain. Our approach is based on a Constructive Solid Geometry tree, where a set of spheres are subtracted from a base Digital Elevation Model. Erosions on terrain are easily and efficiently carried out with a spherical sculpting tool with pixel-perfect accuracy. Real-time rendering performance is achieved by applying a one-direction CPU–GPU communication strategy and using the standard depth and stencil buffer functionalities provided by any graphics processor.This work has been partially funded by Ministeri de Ciència i Innovació (MICIN), Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI) and the Fons Europeu de Desenvolupament Regional (FEDER) (project PID2021-122136OB-C21 funded by MCIN/AEI/10.13039/50110001 1033/FEDER, UE).Postprint (published version

A Method of Rendering CSG-Type Solids Using a Hybrid of Conventional Rendering Methods and Ray Tracing Techniques

This thesis describes a fast, efficient and innovative algorithm for producing shaded, still images of complex objects, built using constructive solid geometry ( CSG ) techniques. The algorithm uses a hybrid of conventional rendering methods and ray tracing techniques. A description of existing modelling and rendering methods is given in chapters 1, 2 and 3, with emphasis on the data structures and rendering techniques selected for incorporation in the hybrid method. Chapter 4 gives a general description of the hybrid method. This method processes data in the screen coordinate system and generates images in scan-line order. Scan lines are divided into spans (or segments) using the bounding rectangles of primitives calculated in screen coordinates. Conventional rendering methods and ray tracing techniques are used interchangeably along each scan-line. The method used is detennined by the number of primitives associated with a particular span. Conventional rendering methods are used when only one primitive is associated with a span, ray tracing techniques are used for hidden surface removal when two or more primitives are involved. In the latter case each pixel in the span is evaluated by accessing the polygon that is visible within each primitive associated with the span. The depth values (i. e. z-coordinates derived from the 3-dimensional definition) of the polygons involved are deduced for the pixel's position using linear interpolation. These values are used to determine the visible polygon. The CSG tree is accessed from the bottom upwards via an ordered index that enables the 'visible' primitives on any particular scan-line to be efficiently located. Within each primitive an ordered path through the data structure provides the polygons potentially visible on a particular scan-line. Lists of the active primitives and paths to potentially visible polygons are maintained throughout the rendering step and enable span coherence and scan-line coherence to be fully utilised. The results of tests with a range of typical objects and scenes are provided in chapter 5. These results show that the hybrid algorithm is significantly faster than full ray tracing algorithms

WebGL-Based Simulation of Bone Removal in Surgical Orthopeadic Procedures

The effective role of virtual reality simulators in surgical operations has been demonstrated during the last decades. The proposed work has been done to give a perspective of the actual orthopeadic surgeries such as a total shoulder arthroplasty with low incidence and visibility of the operation to the surgeon. The research in this thesis is focused on the design and implementation of a web-based graphical feedback for a total shoulder arthroplasty (TSA) surgery. For portability of the simulation and powerful 3D programming features, WebGL is being applied. To simulate the reaming process of the shoulder bone, multiple steps has been passed to be able to remove the volumetric amount of bone which was touched by the reamer tool. A fast and accurate collision detection algorithm utilizing Möller –Trumbore ray-triangle method was implemented to detect the first collision of the bone and the tool in order to accelerate the computations for the bone removal process. Once the collision detected, a mesh Boolean operation using CSG method is being invoked to calculate the volumetric amount of bone which is intersected with the tool and should be removed. This work involves the user interaction to transform the tool in a Three.js scene for the simulated operation

An image-space algorithm for hardware-based rendering of constructive solid geometry

A new approach to image-space hardware-based rendering of Constructive Solid Geometry (CSG) models is presented. The work is motivated by the evolving functionality and performance of computer graphics hardware. This work is also motivated by a specific industrial application --- interactive verification of five axis grinding machine tool programs. The goal is to minimise the amount of time required to render each frame in an animation or interactive application involving boolean combinations of three dimensional shapes. The Sequenced Convex Subtraction (SCS) algorithm utilises sequenced subtraction of convex objects for the purpose of interactive CSG rendering. Concave shapes must be decomposed into convex shapes for the purpose of rendering. The length of Permutation Embedding Sequences (PESs) used as subtraction sequences are shown to have a quadratic lower bound. In ma ny situations shorter sequences can be used, in the best case linear. Approaches to subtraction sequence encoding are presented including the use of object-space overlap information. The implementation of the algorithm is experimentally shown to perform better on modern commodity graphics hardware than previously reported methods. This work also examines performance aspects of the SCS algorithm itself. Overall performance depends on hardware characteristics, the number and spatial arrangement of primitives, and the structure and boolean operators of the CSG tree

View space linking, solid node compression and binary space partitioning for visibility determination in 3D walk-throughs

Today\u27s 3D games consumers are expecting more and more quality in their games. To enable high quality graphics at interactive rates, games programmers employ a technique known as hidden surface removal (HSR) or polygon culling. HSR is not just applicable to games; it may also be applied to any application that requires quality and interactive rates, including medical, military and building applications. One such commonly used technique for HSR is the binary space partition (BSP) tree, which is used for 3D ‘walk-throughs’, otherwise known as 3D static environments or first person shooters. Recent developments in 3D accelerated hardware technology do not mean that HSR is becoming redundant; in fact, HSR is increasingly becoming more important to the graphics pipeline. The well established potentially visible sets (PSV) BSP tree algorithm is used as a platform for exploring three enhanced algorithms; View Space Lighting, Solid Node Compression and hardware accelerated occlusion are shown to reducing the amounts of nodes that are traversed in a BSP tree, improving tree travel efficiency. These algorithms are proven (in cases) to improve overall efficiency

A Beam Tracing with Precise Antialiasing for Polyhedral Scenes

International audienceRay tracing is one of the most important rendering techniques used in computer graphics. A fundamental problem of classical ray tracers is the well-known aliasing. With small objects, or small shadows, aliasing becomes a crucial problem to solve. Beam tracers can be considered as an extension of classical ray tracers. They replace the concept of infinitesimal ray by that of beam but they are generally more complex than ray tracers. The new method presented in this paper is a high quality beam tracer that provides a robust and general antialiasing for polyhedral scenes. Compared to similar beam tracers, this method has some major advantages: - complex and expensive computations of conventional beam-object intersection are entirely avoided, so an extension to some non polyhedral scenes such as CSG ones is possible; - usual approximations or complex approaches for refraction computations are avoided. Moreover, this method is entirely compatible with the usual improvements of classical ray tracing (spatial subdivisions or hierarchical bounding volumes)

Ray tracing for constructive solid modeling

This thesis describes a system for the creation and realistic depiction of non-geometric, complex, three dimensional solid models by utilizing a ray tracing algorithm and a graphics relational database. Geometric primitives such as a sphere, cylinder, block, and cone are combined together by using the Boolean set operations of union (+), intersection (&), and difference (-). The three dimensional solid models are built based on the concept of constructive solid geometric modeling. The database provides functions for the creation, transformation, and deletion of the primitives and models. A model may be displayed as a wireframe for a fast display or as a shaded solid for a realistic display