Parallel processing image synthesis and anti-aliasing

Abstract

The continuing evolution of microelectronics provides the tools for developing new methods of synthesizing digital images by utilizing parallel processing architectures which hold the promise of reliability, flexibility and low cost. Beginning with the earliest real-time flight simulators, parallel processing architectures for image synthesis have been built, but "anti-aliasing" remains a problem. A parallel processing architecture is described and simulated which consists of a serial chain of processors which produces as output a depth sorted list of those objects which are at least potentially visible at each pixel. The lists are then filtered to provide the final shading at each pixel.