Software Platform for Real-Time Image Based Rendering

Image Based Rendering (IBR) is a visualization technique offering some clear advantages over traditional 3D model-based computer graphics. Primarily IBR provides a much higher level of visual realism. The disadvantage of IBR is that it cannot (yet) be supported by fast purpose-designed graphics hardware. The Computer Vision and Media Technology group has developed a software platform specifically for the IBR requirements of the BENOGO project. This platform integrates IBR software, traditional model-based computer graphics rendering, and 3D sound rendering with user tracker technology. The platform enables a user to visually explore (move around in) a world being presented through visualization and sound. The primary challenge is to develop sufficient support for the massive data exchange and transformation required to do Image Based Rendering in real-time. For this purpose the developed platform supports processing and input data to be distributed on an arbitrary number of standard computers, in order to achieve sufficient computing power and available memory. Project under BENOGO (IST/FET), 2002-2005. (Claus B. Madsen, Rune Laursen, Rasmus Stenholt, Henrik Nagel, Erik Granum)