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Instant Visibility
Author(s) -
Wonka Peter,
Wimmer Michael,
Sillion François X.
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
computer graphics forum
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.578
H-Index - 120
eISSN - 1467-8659
pISSN - 0167-7055
DOI - 10.1111/1467-8659.00534
Subject(s) - visibility , computer science , software walkthrough , rendering (computer graphics) , computer graphics (images) , asynchronous communication , computer vision , viewshed analysis , artificial intelligence , software , geography , computer network , software construction , remote sensing , software system , meteorology , programming language
We present an online occlusion culling system which computes visibility in parallel to the rendering pipeline. We show how to use point visibility algorithms to quickly calculate a tight potentially visible set (PVS) which is valid for several frames, by shrinking the occluders used in visibility calculations by an adequate amount. These visibility calculations can be performed on a visibility server, possibly a distinct computer communicating with the display host over a local network. The resulting system essentially combines the advantages of online visibility processing and region‐based visibility calculations, allowing asynchronous processing of visibility and display operations. We analyze two different types of hardware‐based point visibility algorithms and address the problem of bounded calculation time which is the basis for true real‐time behavior. Our results show reliable, sustained 60 Hz performance in a walkthrough with an urban environment of nearly 2 million polygons, and a terrain flyover.