CREMA: A Parallel Hardware Raytracing Machine

— A raytracer calculates how a camera would observe a potentially complex scene consisting of numerous objects and light sources. If all the objects are modeled by n primitives, e.g., triangles, the runtime of a software raytracer scales at least logarithmically. This scaling behavior effectively imposes limitations on the scene’s complexity, its size, and the raytracer’s real-time capabilities. As an alternative, this paper proposes a parallel hardware raytracing machine. A prototypical implementation on a field-programmable gate array, as offered by markets today, validates that this machine achieves rendering in constant time, regardless of both the scene’s size and its complexity.

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2007
• Where: ISCAS
• Authors: Ulf Ochsenfahrt, Ralf Salomon
• Keywords: ISCAS 2007, Raytracer’s Real-time Capabilities, Scene’s Complexity, Software Raytracer Scales