Voxel transfer circuit for accelerated volume rendering of a graphics image
US6573893B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Nov 1, 2000 |
| Grant date | Jun 3, 2003 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | May 15, 2021 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC G)Physics
- CPC primaryG06T15/005
- WIPO fieldComputer technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A voxel transfer circuit that implements high-speed voxel transfer operations. When implemented in a 2D or 3D texture mapping circuit of a graphics system, or in a graphics card adapter of a workstation, the voxel transfer circuit provides a comprehensive, accelerated volume rendering capability to the existing imaging pipeline. For each voxel in a volume data set, the voxel transfer circuit generates a texel having an opacity value and a color value based on one or more properties of the voxel including the local gradient magnitude and a lighting model. The relationship between these values is referred to herein as a classification or transfer function. In the present invention, the voxel transfer circuit implements a transfer function that employs a gradient-influenced classification. Such a transfer function generates opacity and color values of structures with excellent edge and surface discrimination. Preferably the voxel transfer circuit also includes the influence of a lighting model on the voxel, providing improved three-dimensional clarity and depth cues. As a result, the present invention enables existing systems to perform complete volume rendering at accelerated texture…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.