Real-time rendering with compressed animated light fields

Abstract

Systems, methods, and articles of manufacture for real-time rendering using compressed animated light fields are disclosed. One embodiment provides a pipeline, from offline rendering of an animated scene from sparse optimized viewpoints to real-time rendering of the scene with freedom of movement, that includes three stages: offline preparation and rendering, stream compression, and real-time decompression and reconstruction. During offline rendering, optimal placements for cameras in the scene are determined, and color and depth images are rendered using such cameras. Color and depth data is then compressed using an integrated spatial and temporal scheme permitting high performance on graphics processing units for virtual reality applications. The compressed content may be decoded and reconstructed in real-time by selecting, using heuristics, cameras that provide useful data for a viewer, selecting grid cells from those cameras that are visible to the viewer, and using a ray marching technique to reconstruct the scene.