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Multiprocessing for ray tracing: a hierarchical self-balancing approach

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Abstract

A novel parallel processing algorithm for image synthesis using ray tracing is presented. The scene is first organized in a hierarchical data structure which is then cut at some level. The object descriptions along with their bounding volumes are distributed accordingly among the processors of an MIMD system. There are two independent processes in, each processor: one is demand driven and used for bounding volumes calculations while the second is data driven and used for intersection calculations. This scheme, where the first process can be executed by any, processor, suggested an algorithm with an embedded load balancing mechanism. It has almost a linear speedup and its storage requirements are small. Simulation results are presented to illustrate these features.

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Scherson, I.D., Caspary, E. Multiprocessing for ray tracing: a hierarchical self-balancing approach. The Visual Computer 4, 188–196 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01887591

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