Fast equal-area mapping of the (hemi)sphere using SIMD

We present a fast vectorized implementation of a transform that maps points in the unit square to the surface of the sphere, while preserving fractional area. The mapping uses the octahedral map combined with an equal-area param- eterization and has many desirable features such as low distortion, straightforward interpolation, and fast inverse and forward transforms. Our SIMD implementation completely avoids branching and uses polynomial approximations for the trigono- metric operations, along with other tricks. This results in up to 9 times speed-up over a traditional scalar implementation. Source code is available onlin

Ray Tracing Gems

This book is a must-have for anyone serious about rendering in real time. With the announcement of new ray tracing APIs and hardware to support them, developers can easily create real-time applications with ray tracing as a core component. As ray tracing on the GPU becomes faster, it will play a more central role in real-time rendering. Ray Tracing Gems provides key building blocks for developers of games, architectural applications, visualizations, and more. Experts in rendering share their knowledge by explaining everything from nitty-gritty techniques that will improve any ray tracer to mastery of the new capabilities of current and future hardware. What you'll learn: The latest ray tracing techniques for developing real-time applications in multiple domains Guidance, advice, and best practices for rendering applications with Microsoft DirectX Raytracing (DXR) How to implement high-performance graphics for interactive visualizations, games, simulations, and more Who this book is for: Developers who are looking to leverage the latest APIs and GPU technology for real-time rendering and ray tracing Students looking to learn about best practices in these areas Enthusiasts who want to understand and experiment with their new GPU