Efficient parallel implementations for surface subdivision

Abstract

Achieving an efficient surface subdivision is an important issue today in computer graphics, geometric modeling, and scientific visualization. In this paper we present two parallel versions of the Modified Butterfly algorithm. Both versions are based on a coarse-grain approach, that is, the original mesh is subdivided into small groups and each processor performs the triangles subdivision for a set of groups of the mesh. First approach sorts the groups in decreasing order of number of triangles per group, and then the sorted groups are cyclically distributed on the processors in order to achieve a good load distribution. In the second parallel version the processors can dynamically balance the work load by passing groups from heavier loaded processors to lighter ones, achieving in that way a better load balance. Finally, we evaluate the algorithms on two different systems: a SGI Origin 2000 and a Sun cluster. Good performances in terms of speedup have been obtained using both static and dynamic parallel implementations.