Rendering Acceleration using Incremental Textured Depth Meshes
Andy Wilson and Dinesh Manocha

Abstract
We present an incremental algorithm to compute image-based simplifications of a large environment. We use an optimization-based approach to generate samples based on scene visibility, and from each viewpoint create textured depth meshes (TDMs) using sampled range panoramas of the environment. The optimization function minimizes artifacts such as skins and cracks in the reconstruction. We also present an encoding scheme for multiple TDMs that exploits spatial coherence among different viewpoints. The resulting simplifications, incremental textured depth meshes (ITDMs), reduce preprocessing, storage, rendering costs and visible artifacts. Our algorithm has been applied to large, complex synthetic environments comprising millions of primitives. It is able to render them at 20-40 frames a second on a PC with little loss in visual fidelity.

The paper is available as a SIGGRAPH 2003 Paper (PDF, 2.9M). The work described therein is part of Andy's dissertation (PDF, 8.5M).

Videos
Incremental TDMs in the house environment (Quicktime, 37M)
Incremental TDMs vs. static levels of detail (Quicktime, 111M)
Incremental TDMs vs. standard TDMS (frame rate comparison) (Quicktime, 59M)
Incremental TDMs vs. standard TDMS (quality comparison) (Quicktime, 131M)


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awilson@cs.unc.edu
Last modified: Fri Mar 14 22:09:34 EST 2003