The RACE II engine for real-time volume rendering

Abstract

In this paper, we present the RACE II Engine, which uses a hybrid volume rendering methodology that combines algorithmic and hardware acceleration to maximize ray casting performance relative the total amount of volume memory throughput contained in the system. The challenge for future volume rendering accelerators will be the ability to process higher resolution datasets at over 10Hz without utilizing large-scale, and therefore, expensive designs. The limiting performance factor for large datasets will be the throughput between the volume memory subsystem and computational units. Unfortunately, the throughput between memory devices and computational units does not scale with Moore's law. As a result, memory efficient solutions are needed that maximize the input-output relationship between volume memory throughput and frame rate. The RACE II design utilizes this approach and achieves an input-output relationship of up to 4 × larger than many solutions proposed in literature. As a result, this architecture is well suited for meeting the challenges of next generation datasets.