Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!usc!wuarchive!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!rpi!iear.arts.rpi.edu!kyriazis From: kyriazis@iear.arts.rpi.edu (George Kyriazis) Newsgroups: comp.graphics Subject: Re: Any interest in a parallel raytracer? Keywords: Parallel Raytracers Message-ID: Date: 30 Nov 90 19:24:26 GMT References: <105@avatar.avatar.com> <2188@tnoibbc.UUCP> <9308@mirsa.inria.fr> Organization: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy NY Lines: 25 Nntp-Posting-Host: iear.arts.rpi.edu In article <9308@mirsa.inria.fr> kjartan@puce.inria.fr (Kjartan Emilson) writes: > >Does anybody have an algorithm for a massively parallel raytracer, >which could for example run on a Connection Machine, i.e a machine >with a 'single instruction - many data' architecture ? > The ray-tracing algorithm is usually paralellelized ray-at-a-time, which makes it suitable for MIMD machines. If you want to run it on an SIMD you have a problem, since you have to advance all rays at the same time, then filter out which rays do not need a second reflection, and trace the second level, etc. I believe that Scott Whitman (at uiuc?) has written a ray-tracer for a SIMD machine. I don't remember any details. Pick up the SIGGraph proceedings for either '88 or '89 (don't remember which one) on ray-tracing or parallel computer architectures for computer graphics and you are going to see his name there. Hope that helps. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- George Kyriazis kyriazis@rdrc.rpi.edu kyriazis@iear.arts.rpi.edu