Survey of Parallel Volume Rendering Algorithms

Volume rendering is a compute and memory intensive application. Researchers have attempted to use parallel computers to speed up volume rendering for interactive frame rates. Many architectures and approaches have been developed. I develop a taxonomy of volume rendering by forming ve categories: algorithm control ow, targeted hardware, application data characteristics, visualization method, and publication speci cs. I discuss the current approaches in parallel volume rendering algorithms, and show how di erent taxonomies from the developed classi cation provide the ability to compare, contrast, and show potential for future research results.