Mesh Mutation in Programmable Graphics Hardware

Abstract

We show how a future graphics processor unit (GPU), enhanced with random read and write to video memory, can represent, refine and adjust complex meshes arising in modeling, simulation and animation. To leverage SIMD parallelism, a general model based on the mesh atlas is developed and a particular implementation without adjacency pointers is proposed in which primal, binary refinement of, possibly mixed, quadrilateral and triangular meshes of arbitrary topological genus, as well as their traversal is supported by user-transparent programmable graphics hardware. Adjustment, such as subdivision smoothing rules, is realized as user-programmable mesh shader routines. Attributes are generic and can be defined in the graphics application by binding them to one of several general addressing mechanisms.