J.Howell, Y.Chrysanthou, A.Steed, M.Slater
Department of Computer Science
University College London
UK

In virtual reality simulations the speed of rendering is vitally important. One of the techniques for controlling the frame rate is the assignment of differing levels of detail for each object within a scene. The most well-known level of detail assignment algorithms are the Funkhouser algorithm and the algorithm where the level of detail is assigned purely on the distance of the object from the viewer.

We propose an algorithm based on an analogy to a market system where each object does not have an assigned level of detail but has the ownership of a certain amount of time with which it can use to be rendered with. The optimization of the levels of detail then becomes a simplistic trading process where objects with large amounts of time that they don't need will trade with objects who have need of extra time.

All the algorithms mentioned have been implemented to run inside the renderer of the DIVE virtual environment system. This sytem was then used to perform experiments with the aim of comparing the performance of the algorithms.