The Triangle Shading Engine

Abstract

This paper describes an algorithm implementing the Gouraud-shading of triangles and its realization in hardware. Different realizations using span shading hardware are discussed. Their drawbacks lead to the concept of a triangle shader, designed as an ASIC. Interfaced to a signal processor for geometry computations, this chip will provide an effective and low-cost 3D-extension to graphics subsystems in the PC environment.