We present a preprocessing algorithm and run-time system for rendering 3D geometric models at a guaranteed frame rate. Our approach trades off space for frame rate by using images to replace distant geometry. The preprocessing algorithm automatically chooses a subset of the model to display as an image so as to render no more than a specified number of geometric primitives. We also summarize an optimized layered-depth-image warper to display images surrounded by geometry at run time. Furthermore, we show the results of applying our method to accelerate the interactive walkthrough of several complex models.
Daniel G. Aliaga, Anselmo Lastra