Interactive time-dependent tone mapping using programmable graphics hardware

Abstract

Modern graphics architectures have replaced stages of the graphics pipeline with fully programmable modules. Therefore, it is now possible to perform fairly general computation on each vertex or fragment in a scene. In addition, the nature of the graphics pipeline makes substantial computational power available if the programs have a suitable structure. In this paper, we show that it is possible to cleanly map a state-of-the-art tone mapping algorithm to the pixel processor. This allows an interactive application to achieve higher levels of realism by rendering with physically based, unclamped lighting values and high dynamic range texture maps. We also show that the tone mapping operator can easily be extended to include a time-dependent model, which is crucial for interactive behavior. Finally, we describe the ways in which the graphics hardware limits our ability to compress dynamic range efficiently, and discuss modifications to the algorithm that could alleviate these problems.