A workbench for realistic image synthesis
Date
1990
Authors
Corrie, Brian D.
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Abstract
There are two primary tasks in the computer generation of photorealistic images, the modeling of a three-dimensional scene, and the rendering of that scene to create a two-dimensional image. An image synthesis workbench is needed to perform these tasks effectively and efficiently. The workbench provides a cohesive system that integrates the various stages of the image synthesis process . This thesis presents such a workbench.
The modeling component of the workbench, Scene, is a visual, three-dimensional, editor. It allows the user to interactively create, edit, and visualize the structure of a complex three-dimensional scene, significantly simplifying the modeling process.
The rendering component of the workbench, SunRay, is a ray tracing rendering
system. Ray tracing is a powerful rendering technique that can simulate complex light interactions such as shadows, reflection, and refraction. The SunRay rendering system provides the photorealistic quality expected by the users of todays graphics systems.
To reduce the rendering time of the image, which on a single computer can be excessive, the SunRay renderer is designed to run in a distributed fashion on a loosely-coupled, heterogeneous network of computers. The system features an adaptive, load-balanced, image space ray tracing algorithm. The performance :figures of the distributed ray tracer compare favorably with implementations reported in the literature. The result is a near linear reduction (with respect to the number of processors used) in rendering time.