Memory-optimized order-independent transparency with Dynamic Fragment Buffer

• Tighter memory allocation for array-based exact-OIT implementations.
• Evaluation and analysis of state-of-the-art exact-OIT techniques.
• Image quality analysis for global versus local alpha.

Exact order-independent transparency (OIT) rendering is memory demanding because it requires per-pixel blending of an unknown number of fragments that need to be stored and sorted before compositing. In this paper, we describe the Dynamic Fragment Buffer (DFB) algorithm, which efficiently manages memory to perform correct compositing for pixels with varying numbers of fragments. We present a collection of experiments that illustrate the advantages of the DFB algorithm with respect to other OIT algorithms, and analyze the impact of the proposed variations.

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