A Multilevel Terrain Rendering Method Based on Dynamic Stitching Strips

Abstract

High-quality terrain rendering has been the focus of many visualization applications over recent decades. Many terrain rendering methods use the strategy of Level of Detail (LOD) to create adaptive terrain models, but the transition between different levels is usually not handled well, which may cause popping artefacts that seriously affect the reality of the terrain model. In recent years, many researchers have tried using modern Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) to complete heavy rendering tasks. By leveraging the great power of GPU, high quality terrain models with rich details can be rendered in real time, although the problem of popping artefacts still persists. In this study, we propose a real-time terrain rendering method with GPU tessellation that can effectively reduce the popping artefacts. Coupled with a view-dependent updating scheme, a multilevel terrain representation based on the flexible Dynamic Stitching Strip (DSS) is developed. During rendering, the main part of the terrain model is tessellated into appropriate levels using GPU tessellation. DSSs, generated in parallel, can seamlessly make the terrain transitions between different levels much smoother. Experiments demonstrate that the proposed method can meet the requirements of real-time rendering and achieve a better visual quality compared with other methods.