A Generic Software Framework for the GPU Volume Rendering Pipeline
Joachim E. Vollrath, Daniel Weiskopf, Thomas Ertl · 2005
This paper presents an extendable, simple, and efficient software framework that implements the GPU-based volume rendering pipeline. We use volume graphics for realistic image synthesis taking into account aspects of visual perception by means of real-time high dynamic range tone mapping. We propose a software architecture that embeds the volume rendering pipeline by using object-oriented design patterns, layers, and the concept of a shared application state. The pipeline is made flexible by representing stages as objects, loosely coupled via the shared state. We demonstrate the benefits of our architecture in a modern volume rendering application that incorporates state-of-the-art features such as pre-integration, pre-integrated lighting, and volumetric shadows. The full source code of our framework is made publicly available. 1