Image space adaptive volume rendering

Abstract

We present a technique for interactive direct volume rendering which provides adaptive sampling at a reduced memory requirement compared to traditional methods. Our technique exploits frame to frame coherence to quickly generate a two-dimensional importance map of the volume which guides sampling rate optimisation and allows us to provide interactive frame rates for user navigation and transfer function changes. In addition our ray casting shader detects any inconsistencies in our two-dimensional map and corrects them on the fly to ensure correct classification of important areas of the volume.