3D-Kernel Foveated Rendering for Light Fields.

Light fields capture both the spatial and angular rays, thus enabling free-viewpoint rendering and custom selection of the focal plane. Scientists can interactively explore pre-recorded microscopic light fields of organs, microbes, and neurons using virtual reality headsets. However, rendering high-resolution light fields at interactive frame rates requires a very high rate of texture sampling, which is challenging as the resolutions of light fields and displays continue to increase. In this article, we present an efficient algorithm to visualize $4D$ 4 D light fields with 3D-kernel foveated rendering (3D-KFR). The 3D-KFR scheme coupled with eye-tracking has the potential to accelerate the rendering of $4D$ 4 D depth-cued light fields dramatically. We have developed a perceptual model for foveated light fields by extending the KFR for the rendering of $3D$ 3 D meshes. On datasets of high-resolution microscopic light fields, we observe $3.47\times -7.28\times$ 3. 47 × - 7. 28 × speedup in light field rendering with minimal perceptual loss of detail. We envision that 3D-KFR will reconcile the mutually conflicting goals of visual fidelity and rendering speed for interactive visualization of light fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]