The holodeck ray cache

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Abstract
We present a new method for rendering complex environments using interactive, progressive, view-independent, parallel ray tracing. A four-dimensional holodeck data structure serves as a rendering target and caching mechanism for interactive walk-throughs of nondiffuse environments with full global illumination. Ray sample density varies locally according to need, and on-demand ray computation is supported in a parallel implementation. The holodeck file is stored on disk and cached in memory by a server using a least-recently-used (LRU) beam-replacement strategy. The holodeck server coordinates separate ray evaluation and display processes, optimizing disk and memory usage. Different display systems are supported by specialized drivers, which handle display rendering, user interaction, and input. The display driver creates an image from ray samples sent by the server and permits the manipulation of local objects, which are rendered dynamically using approximate lighting computed from holodeck samples. The overall method overcomes many of the conventionl limits of interactive rendering in scenes with complex surface geometry and reflectance properties, through an effective combination of ray tracing, caching, and hardware rendering.

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