Based on course notes of SIGGRAPH course teaching techniques for real-time rendering of volumetric data and effects; covers both applications in scientific visualization and real-time rendering. Starts with the basics (texture-based ray casting) and then improves and expands the algorithms incrementally. Book includes source code, algorithms, diagrams, and rendered graphics.
 |
New! Introducing the tech.book(store), a hub for Software Developers and Architects, Networking Administrators, TPMs, and other technology professionals to find highly-rated and highly-relevant career resources. Shop books on programming and big data, or read this week's blog posts by authors and thought-leaders in the tech industry. > Shop now |
Book Description
Frequently Bought Together
Editorial Reviews
Review
"Any developer who would work with volume graphics needs this basic text, which provides an introduction to texture-based volume rendering methods, techniques, and optimization routines. Even code examples are included within the examples and technical discussions of generating images from 3D scalar data. It's an advanced computer and game developer's primer important for any comprehensive collection." -Califonia Bookwatch: The Computer Shelf, The Midwest Book Review, November 2006
About the Author
Klaus Engel earned his PhD in Computer Science from the University of Stuttgart. He is a researcher at Siemens Corporate Research, Inc. in Princeton, NJ. Markus Hadwiger earned his PhD in Computer Science from the Vienna University of Technology. He is a senior researcher in the Medical Visualization department at the VRVis Research Center in Vienna, Austria. Joe Kniss earned his PhD in Computer Science from the University of Utah's School of Computing. He investigates volume rendering, volume light transport, human-computer interaction, and image processing at the Scientific Computing and Imaging Institute in Salt Lake City, UT. Christof Rezk-Salama earned his PhD from the University of Erlangen, working in the Computer Graphics Group. He is an assistant professor at the Computer Graphics and Multimedia Group of the University of Siegen, Germany. Daniel Weiskopf earned his PhD in Physics from the University of Tubingen, Germany. He is an Assistant Professor of Computing Science and co-director of the Graphics, Usability, and Visualization Lab at Simon Fraser University, Canada.
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images? |
Customer Reviews
Share your thoughts with other customers
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
While volume graphics have historically been in the realm of scientific visualization, modern GPU's make it possible to render gaseous phenomena such as clouds and fire using true volumetric data in games and simulators at high framerates. Using real-time ray casting to render these objects is quite feasible on modern GPU's, but it's an intimidating-sounding technique.
It really isn't, and this book helps to demystify volumetric rendering using 3D textures, GPU ray-casting, and other techniques. It really isn't hard to understand the concepts; this book presents the math behind it well without going overboard - it's all well-explained.
What's really valuable, however, is all the practical advice stashed in here. If you've experimented with real-time ray casting before, you've likely beaten your head against the wall fighting sampling artifacts, figuring out how to properly add procedural noise to the results, and squeezing enough performance out of your fragment program to not slow down the rest of your scene. If you got past all those hurdles, then you probably gave up when you had to figure out how to deal with intersections between your volume and the rest of your scene, or what to do when the camera goes inside the volume.
This book has chapters on all of those topics, and that's what makes this an invaluable reference for volume graphics that are part of bigger applications. Most of the other research and material on this subject assume you're rendering a single object in isolation, but in a game engine that isn't the case. This book bridges the gap between scientific visualization, games and other visual simulation applications, and finally makes these exciting techniques accessible to a whole new class of applications.
Once it all comes together, the results are truly amazing. You'll find yourself using volume graphics for all sorts of situations and adding an incredible air of reality to your applications as a result. Highly recommended!
It really isn't, and this book helps to demystify volumetric rendering using 3D textures, GPU ray-casting, and other techniques. It really isn't hard to understand the concepts; this book presents the math behind it well without going overboard - it's all well-explained.
What's really valuable, however, is all the practical advice stashed in here. If you've experimented with real-time ray casting before, you've likely beaten your head against the wall fighting sampling artifacts, figuring out how to properly add procedural noise to the results, and squeezing enough performance out of your fragment program to not slow down the rest of your scene. If you got past all those hurdles, then you probably gave up when you had to figure out how to deal with intersections between your volume and the rest of your scene, or what to do when the camera goes inside the volume.
This book has chapters on all of those topics, and that's what makes this an invaluable reference for volume graphics that are part of bigger applications. Most of the other research and material on this subject assume you're rendering a single object in isolation, but in a game engine that isn't the case. This book bridges the gap between scientific visualization, games and other visual simulation applications, and finally makes these exciting techniques accessible to a whole new class of applications.
Once it all comes together, the results are truly amazing. You'll find yourself using volume graphics for all sorts of situations and adding an incredible air of reality to your applications as a result. Highly recommended!
By M. Duncan
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is a great book to learn much of the theory for volume rendering. Though there are some program listings, most are fragments. Some contain pseudo code which makes for a difficult experience when a developer is trying to understand the program let alone the theory.
All in all, still quite a good book with rich theory; color photos and beautiful glossy pages however I would not recommend as a sole source of reading for entry-level volume graphic developers.
All in all, still quite a good book with rich theory; color photos and beautiful glossy pages however I would not recommend as a sole source of reading for entry-level volume graphic developers.
By IBLUES
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
If there were many more real time volume graphics books out there, it will be easier to compare.
The book is excellent in covering GPU Real Time Graphics. I wish it would had use CUDA or something else, or see an updated version of the book... that is far as the technology behind it. The concepts are great.
The book is excellent in covering GPU Real Time Graphics. I wish it would had use CUDA or something else, or see an updated version of the book... that is far as the technology behind it. The concepts are great.
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Listmania!
So You'd Like to...
Look for Similar Items by Category
- Books > Computers & Technology > Digital Media Management > Video Production
- Books > Computers & Technology > Graphic Design > CAD
- Books > Computers & Technology > Programming > Game Programming
- Books > Computers & Technology > Programming > Graphics & Multimedia
- Books > New, Used & Rental Textbooks > Computer Science > Graphics & Visualization
