A graphics hierarchy for the visualisation of 3D images by means of a volumetric display system

Volumetric display systems enable 3D images and graphics to be presented to users in a natural manner, the images are created in a display volume rather upon a stationary surface, and therefore depth cues such as binocular and motion parallax are automatically satisfied. Moreover, many volumetric systems allow an all-round view of the displayed images. One such system, known as the Cathode Ray Sphere, is described herein. A graphics pipeline, detailing the operations required in software to transform 3D data sets for display, is discussed in the light of nonuniformities in certain characteristics of the display volume. Applications for which volumetric displays seem, to be most suited are discussed, and examples of these that have been depicted on the Cathode Ray Sphere are outlined