Wavelets For Order Independent Transparency

Author/Creator

Author/Creator ORCID

Date

2019-01-01

Department

Computer Science and Electrical Engineering

Program

Computer Science

Citation of Original Publication

Rights

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Abstract

Real time rendering of transparent surfaces typically needs surfaces to be sorted and composited from back to front. This paper introduces Wavelet Transparency (WT), a novel method for order independent transparency utilizing wavelets as the means for estimation of transmittance. The major challenge tackled by WT is a precise estimation of transmittance comparable to ground truth with low memory overhead. The WT transmittance function can be analytically processed using standard hardware and tackles some of the limitations of earlier methods. The proposed method is validated with data from multiple scenes containing particle effects, hair and transparent materials. WT is further implemented in a popular engine and results are compared to transparency generated by explicit sorting of transparent layers.