Chapter 1 Introduction to Volume Rendering

Rapid advances in hardware have been transforming revolutionary approaches in computer graphics into reality. One typical example is the raster graphics that took place in the seventies, when hardware innovations enabled the transition from vector graphics to raster graphics. Another example which has a similar potential is currently shaping up in the field of volume graphics. This trend is rooted in the extensive research and development effort in scientific visualization in general and in volume visualization in particular.

Visualization is the usage of computer-supported, interactive, visual representations of data to amplify cognition. Scientific visualization is the visualization of physically based data.

Volume visualization is a method of extracting meaningful information from volumetric datasets through the use of interactive graphics and imaging, and is concerned with the representation, manipulation, and rendering of volumetric datasets.

Its objective is to provide mechanisms for peering inside volumetric datasets and to enhance the visual understanding.

Traditional 3D graphics is based on surface representation. Most common form is polygon-based surfaces for which affordable special-purpose rendering hardware have been developed in the recent years. Volume graphics has the potential to greatly advance the field of 3D graphics by offering a comprehensive alternative to conventional surface representation methods.

The object of this thesis is to examine the existing methods for volume visualization and to find a way of efficiently rendering scientific data with commercially available hardware, like PC’s, without requiring dedicated systems.