OpenRT
 | |
| Original author(s) | Dr. Sergey Kosov |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Project X |
| Initial release | September 2019 |
| Repository | github |
| Written in | C++ |
| Engine | |
| Operating system | Cross-platform |
| Type | 3D graphics library |
| License | BSD 3-Clause |
| Website | openrt.org |
Search OpenRT on Amazon.
OpenRT (Open Source Ray-Tracing Library) is a cross-platform C++ library of programming functions, which allows for the synthesis of photo-realistic images. The library code is executed solely on the CPU, without the use of graphics accelerators. The library code is executed solely on the CPU, without the use of graphics accelerators. The library is developed mainly for academic purposes: to study, develop and teach algorithms used in ray tracing for computer graphics, volume computation, sound waves tracing, and collision detection.
OpenRT aims for a realistic simulation of light transport, as compared to other rendering methods, such as rasterisation, which focuses more on the realistic simulation of geometry. Effects such as reflections and shadows, which are difficult to simulate using other algorithms, are a natural result of the ray tracing algorithm.
History[edit]
The library's author studied computer graphics and in particular raytracing at the University of Saarland in Germany under Prof. Philipp Slusallek, while still a student in 2005-2006. Three years earlier Philipp Slusallek co-authored with Ingo Wald and Carsten Benthin an article[1] A Flexible and Scalable Rendering Engine for Interactive 3D Graphics, where the name "OpenRT" appears for the first time.
In 2006, the library's author won first place in the Saarland University Rendering Competition. The prize work "Mein Studium" was generated by a raytracer written in the C++ programming language and called Eyden-Tracer. Eyden-Tracer was based on a basic raytracer that was available to students in the Department of Computer Graphics, and which was presumably related to the above-mentioned publication. For creating the Eyden-Tracer and for winning the rendering competition, the library author was awarded a printed version of the book "Physically Based Rendering" by Matt Pharr et. al.[2]
In 2019, the library author himself starts teaching computer graphics at Jacobs University in Bremen, Germany. To make the teaching process more efficient, Sergey Kosov creates a cross-platform version of Eyden-Tracer and publishes it in the public domain under the name OpenRT. Unlike the project of the same name, the current library makes no claim to real-time image synthesis and is not an alternative to the OpenGL library for interactive graphics synthesis. On the contrary, sometimes even at the expense of efficiency and performance, the library code is written to be more easily readable and understandable. This is essential for making it easier and faster for students to learn.
During 2019 - 2022, many undergraduate students at Jacobs University contributed a number of new methods and algorithms to the library as part of their undergraduate work. Nowadays, support for OpenRT was taken over by a non-profit foundation Project X, which maintains user site.[3] The User Site includes also interactive lectures and worksheets.
Features[edit]
OpenRT's features include:
- Anti-aliasing
- Constructive solid geometry
- Ambient occlusion
- Distributed ray tracing
- 360° Stereoscopic Virtual Reality (VR) rendering
- Global illumination
- Light transport
- Procedural texturing
- Depth of field
OS support[edit]
OpenRT runs on the following desktop operating systems: Windows, Linux, macOS, FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD. The user can take the latest sources from GitHub[4]. OpenRT uses CMake.
References[edit]
- ↑ Wald, Ingo; Benthin, Carsten; Slusallek, Philipp (2002). "A Flexible and Scalable Rendering Engine for Interactive 3D Graphics" (PDF). Technical Report TR-2002-01, Computer Graphics Group, Saarland University. Retrieved 28 December 2022.
- ↑ Pharr, Matt, Humphreys, Greg, and Hanrahan, Pat. "Physically Based Rendering". Retrieved on 28 December 2022.
- ↑ OpenRT User Site: http://www.openrt.org/
- ↑ "GitHub - Project-10/OpenRT: Open Source Ray Tracing Library". Retrieved 28 December 2022.
This article "OpenRT" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:OpenRT. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.
