Lazy Sweep Ray Casting A Fast Scanline Algorithm for Rendering Irregular Grids

For the visualization of three-dimensional data, whether scalar or vector, direct volume rendering has emerged as a leading, and often preferred, method. While surface rendering method can be applied to visualize volumetric data, they require the extraction of some structure, such as isosurfaces or streamlines, which may bias the resulting visualization. In rendering volumetric data directly, we treat space as composed of semi-transparent material that can emit, transmit, and absorb light, thereby allowing one to “see through” (or see inside) the data [4, 3]. Volume rendering also allows one to render surfaces, and, in fact, by changing the properties of the light emission and absorption, different lighting effects can be achieved [2].