Parallel methods for isosurface visualization

Journal Articleisosurface extraction and vis utilization is crucial for explorative scientific visualization of extremely large scientific data. The shear number of polygons extracted and the subsequent rendering time limit interactivity. We explore two solutions to this problem: exploiting parallel graphics hardware and parallel isosurface extraction/rendering via ray-tracing

Towards Interactive Photorealistic Rendering of Indoor Scenes: A Hybrid Approach

. Photorealistic rendering methods produce accurate solutions to the rendering equation but are computationally expensive and typically noninteractive. Some researchers have used graphics hardware to obtain photorealistic effects but not at interactive frame rates. We describe a technique to achieve near photorealism of simple indoor scenes at interactive rates using both CPUs and graphics hardware in parallel. This allows the user the ability to interactively move objects and lights in the scene. Our goal is to introduce as many global illumination effects as possible while maintaining a high frame rate. We describe methods to generate soft shadows, approximate one-bounce indirect lighting, and specular reflection and refraction effects. 1 Introduction and previous work Research in photorealistic rendering has concentrated on numerically solving the rendering equation[9]. Ray tracers[22] use Monte Carlo methods while radiosity systems[6] use finite element methods. These give accurat..

Seamless Multiresolution Isosurfaces Using Wavelets

Data sets that are being produced by today’s simulations, such as the ones generated by DOE’s ASCI program, are too large for realtime exploration and visualization. Therefore, new methods of visualizing these data sets need to be investigated. We present a method that combines isosurface representations of different resolutions into a seamless solution, virtually free of cracks and overlaps. This technique combines existing isosurface generation algorithms and wavelet theory to produce a real-time solution to multiple-resolution isosurfaces

Access Grid: Immersive Group-to-Group Collaborative Visualization

Immersive projection displays have played an important role in enabling large-format virtual reality systems such as the CAVE and CAVE like devices and the various immersive desks and desktop-like displays. However, these devices have played a minor role so far in advancing the sense of immersion for conferencing systems. The Access Grid project led by Argonne is exploring the use of large-scale projection based systems as the basis for building room oriented collaboration and semi-immersive visualization systems. We believe these multiprojector systems will become common infrastructure in the future, largely based on their value for enabling group-to-group collaboration in an environment that can also support large-format projector based visualization. Creating a strong sense of immersion is an important goal for future collaboration technologies. Immersion in conferencing applications implies that the users can rely on natural sight and audio cues to facilitate interactions with part..