high performance computing on graphics processing units: hgpu.org

In this article we present a new format for storing sparse matrices. The format is designed to perform well mainly on the GPU devices. We present its implementation in CUDA. The performance has been tested on 1,600 different types of matrices and we compare our format with the Hybrid format. We give detailed comparison of […]

Significant improvement to visual quality for real-time 3D graphics requires modeling of complex illumination effects like soft-shadows, reflections, and diffuse lighting interactions. The conventional Z-buffer algorithm driven GPU model does not provide sufficient support for this improvement. This paper targets the entire graphics system stack and demonstrates algorithms, a software architecture, and a hardware architecture […]

We present a new, real-time method for rendering soft shadows from large light sources or lighting environments on dynamic height fields. The method first computes a horizon map for a set of azimuthal directions. To reduce sampling, we compute a multi-resolution pyramid on the height field. Coarser pyramid levels are indexed as the distance from […]

Parallel coordinate plots (PCPs) are commonly used in information visualization to provide insight into multi-variate data. These plots help to spot correlations between variables. PCPs have been successfullyapplied to unstructured datasets up to a few millions of points. In this paper, we present techniques to enhance the usability of PCPs forthe exploration of large, multi-timepoint […]

Programmable graphics hardware makes it possible to generate procedural noise textures on the fly for interactive rendering. However, filtering and antialiasing procedural noise involves a tradeoff between aliasing artifacts and loss of detail. In this paper we present a technique, targeted at interactive applications, that provides high-quality anisotropic filtering for noise textures. We generate noise […]

We describe a new vector-based primitive for creating smooth-shaded images, called the diffusion curve . A diffusion curve partitions the space through which it is drawn, defining different colors on either side. These colors may vary smoothly along the curve. In addition, the sharpness of the color transition from one side of the curve to […]

This paper presents a real-time framework for computationally tracking objects visually attended by the user while navigating in interactive virtual environments. In addition to the conventional bottom-up (stimulus-driven) saliency map, the proposed framework uses top-down (goal-directed) contexts inferred from the user’s spatial and temporal behaviors, and identifies the most plausibly attended objects among candidates in […]

We present an image editing program which allows artists to paint in the gradient domain with real-time feedback on megapixel-sized images. Along with a pedestrian, though powerful, gradient-painting brush and gradient-clone tool, we introduce an edge brush designed for edge selection and replay. These brushes, coupled with special blending modes, allow users to accomplish global […]

Advances in information technology based applications in medicine and biology help to improve the conventional methods of delivering health services by enhancing and complementing traditional approaches of medical education, diagnostic techniques, intra-operative assistance, and pre/post operative services etc. Individualized medical training by virtual simulations and the use of advanced visualization techniques in cell biology will […]

One challenge in video processing is to detect actions and events, known or unknown, in video streams dynamically. This paper proposes a visualization solution, where a video stream is depicted as a series of snapshots at a relatively sparse interval, and detected actions are highlighted with continuous abstract illustrations. The combined imagery and illustrative visualization […]

BACKGROUND:We present SWPS3, a vectorized implementation of the Smith-Waterman local alignment algorithm optimized for both the Cell/B.E. and x86 architectures. The paper describes SWPS3 and compares its performances with several other implementations. FINDINGS:Our benchmarking results show that SWPS3 is currently the fastest implementation of a vectorized Smith-Waterman on the Cell/B.E., outperforming the only other known […]

Example-based texture synthesis algorithms have gained widespread popularity for their ability to take a single input image and create a perceptually similar non-periodic texture. However, previous methods rely on single input exemplars that can capture only a limited band of spatial scales. For example, synthesizing a continent-like appearance at a variety of zoom levels would […]