Parallel Architectures and Algorithms for Real-Time Synthesis of High Quality Images Using Deferred Shading
Brice Tebbs, Ulrich Neumann, John G. Eyles, Greg Turk, David A. Ellsworth · 1989
High-end b>rJphics workStations provide us with the ability 10 inu:ractively display polygonal models of high geometric complexity. It is our hope that future graphics workstations will also provide us with shading models that go beyond Gouraud shading of polygons. This paper describes perfonnance improvementS that result from ~1oring a polygon's shading parameters at c:~ch pillet and deferring the shading calculations until all the pol)·gons have been processed. One benefit of this appro:tch is that!he shading calculations are only performed on the pans of a surface that are visible, which rne:ms that Lhis method becomes more atll'3ctive as ~hading models become more complex and a. ~ the depth complexity or the scene increases. We also show how this technique maps onto different parallel architectur~s for high pcrform:1ncc rendering. In particul:tr, we describe how this method can be used to produce real-time images that incorporate Phong shading and procedur.tl texture mapping on Pixei·Pbncs 5. Pixel· Planes 5 is a massively parallel SlMD machine!hat is under construction at UNC. Since the processing elcmenlS of Pixel-Planes are fully programmable, new shading models can be incorporated in the system without any hardwa.re modifications. lntroduclion Both!he complexity of geometric models and the surface propcrucs of objects contribute 10 lhc visu•tl richness of computer gencrnu:cl scenes. Polygons arc the most commonly used geometric elemeniS for grapbical models nnd