A Hypercube Ray-tracer

Abstract

We describe a hypercube ray-tracing program for rendering computer graphics. For small models, which fit in the memory of a single processor, the ray-tracer uses a scattered decomposition of pixels to balance the load, and achieves a very high efficiency. The more interesting case of large models, which cannot be stored in a single processor, requires a decomposition of the model data as well as the pixels. We present algorithms for constructing a decomposition based upon information about the frequency with which different elements of the model are accessed. The resulting decomposition is approximately optimized to minimize communication and achieve load balance.

Additional details