VoxLink—Combining sparse volumetric data and geometry for efficient rendering

Abstract

Processing and visualizing large scale volumetric and geometric datasets is mission critical in an increasing number of applications in academic research as well as in commercial enterprise. Often the datasets are, or can be processed to become, sparse. In this paper, we present VoxLink, a novel approach to render sparse volume data in a memory-efficient manner enabling interactive rendering on common, offthe- shelf graphics hardware. Our approach utilizes current GPU architectures for voxelizing, storing, and visualizing such datasets. It is based on the idea of perpixel linked lists (ppLL), an A-buffer implementation for order-independent transparency rendering. The method supports voxelization and rendering of dense semi-transparent geometry, sparse volume data, and implicit surface representations with a unified data structure. The proposed data structure also enables efficient simulation of global lighting effects such as reflection, refraction, and shadow ray evaluation.