Efficient CPU‐based Volume Ray Tracing Techniques

Abstract Recent research on high‐performance ray tracing has achieved real‐time performance even for highly complex surface models already on a single PC. In this report, we provide an overview of techniques for extending real‐time ray tracing also to interactive volume rendering. We review fast rendering techniques for different volume representations and rendering modes in a variety of computing environments. The physically‐based rendering approach of ray tracing enables high image quality and allows for easily mixing surface, volume and other primitives in a scene, while fully accounting for all of their optical interactions. We present optimized implementations and discuss the use of upcoming high‐performance processors for volume ray tracing.