Visual comparison of the novel volumetric depth image-based rendering (left) running six times faster than the conventional parallel visualization (right) for a numerical simulation of forced isotropic turbulence. Copyright: Gupta et al., Proc. EGPGV 2023
During the Eurographics Symposium on Parallel Graphics and Visualization (EGPGV), which was held this year in Leipzig on June 12, 2023, researchers from the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics (MPI-CBG) and the Center for Systems Biology Dresden (CSBD) received the best paper award for their contribution “Parallel Compositing of Volumetric Depth Images for Interactive Visualization of Distributed Volumes at High Frame Rates.” The first author of the paper, Aryaman Gupta, is from the research group of Ivo Sbalzarini, TU-Dresden Professor in the CSBD, Research Group Leader at the MPI-CBG, and Dean of the Faculty of Computer Science at the TU Dresden. The algorithm was developed in collaboration with researchers from the TU Dresden, the Center for Advanced Systems Understanding (CASUS) in Görlitz, the University of Stuttgart, and the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. The EGPGV is one of the world’s premier forums for the exchange of knowledge and scientific advances in the field of parallel graphics and visualization of large scientific data.
In their study, the researchers present a parallel computing algorithm for the visualization of large, three-dimensional datasets that are potentially distributed across multiple computers or storage sites. Large data from numerical simulations and large 3D microscopy volumes of biological systems are commonly visualized using parallel computers, but smooth interactive visualization has been challenging. This novel algorithm addresses the challenge by using a highly compact intermediate representation of the data, called a Volumetric Depth Image (VDI), that is faster to visualize and can efficiently be streamed over a network for remote visualization. The research group of Ivo Sbalzarini is currently working on extending the method to virtual and augmented reality visualization.
Congratulations to all the authors!