Image-based Representations for Accelerated Rendering of Complex Scenes

This paper gives an overview of image-based representations commonly used for reducing the geometric complexity of a scene description in order to accelerate the rendering process. Several different types of representations and ways for using them have been presented, which are classified and discussed here. Furthermore, the overview includes techniques for accelerating the rendering of static scenes or scenes with animations and/or dynamic lighting effects. The advantages and drawbacks of the different approaches are illuminated, and unsolved problems and roads for further research are shown.