ReVolver/C40 : A Scalable Parallel Computer for Volume Rendering-Design and Implementation-

This paper describes the architecture of ReVolver/C40 a scalable parallel machine for volume rendering and its prototype implementation. The most important feature of ReVolver/C40 is view-independent real time rendering of translucent 3D object by using perspective projection. In order to realize this feature, the authors propose a parallel volume memory architecture based on the principal axis oriented sampling method and parallel treble volume memory. This paper also discusses the implementation issues of ReVolver/C40 where various kinds of parallelism extracted to achieve high-perfromance rendering are explained. The prototype systems had been developed and their performance evaluation results are explained. As the results of the evaluation of the prototype systems, ReVolver/C40 with 32 parallel volume memory is estimated to achieve more than 10 frame per second for 2563 volume data on 2562 screen by using perspective projection. The authors also review the development of ReVolver/C40 from several view points