Method and apparatus for occlusion culling of objects in a data processing system

A method in a data processing system for processing a scene for a viewpoint, wherein the scene contains a plurality of objects, the method comprising the data processing steps of:

• receiving data for the scene, the scene comprising a plurality of objects, each object having a complexity value;
• selecting a first set of visible objects, which have a complexity value greater than a selected threshold, from the plurality of objects;
• rendering the first set of visible objects in order to obtain depth data;
• using the depth data to select a second set of visible objects from the plurality of objects in the scene that were not selected in the first set;
• and
• displaying the first and second set of visible objects as being visible to the viewpoint.

A method in a data processing system for processing a scene for a viewpoint, wherein the scene contains a plurality of objects, the method comprising the data processing system steps of:

• receiving data for the scene, wherein the data includes bounding boxes for the plurality of objects and complexity data for the plurality of objects;
• selecting a set of visible objects from the plurality of objects using the data for the scene;
• and
• identifying objects visible to the viewpoint by comparing unselected objects from the plurality of objects to the set of visible objects.

A data processing system for displaying a drawing for a view point, wherein the drawing includes a set of objects, the data processing system comprising:

• receiving means for receiving a plurality of bounding boxes and complexity data for the set of objects, wherein a bounding box and complexity data is associated with each object within the set of objects;
• selecting means for selecting occluders within the set of objects using the plurality of bounding boxes;
• and
• identifying means for identifying objects from the set of objects that are visible for the viewpoint.

A data processing system for processing a scene for a viewpoint, wherein the scene contains a plurality of objects, the data processing steps comprising:

• receiving means for receiving data for the scene, the scene comprising a plurality of objects, each object having a complexity value;
• first selecting means for selecting a first set of visible objects, which have a complexity value greater than a selected threshold, from the plurality of objects;
• rendering means for rendering the first set of visible objects in order to obtain depth data;
• second selecting means for using the depth data to select a second set of visible objects from the plurality of objects in the scene that were not selected in the first set;
• and
• displaying means for displaying the first and second set of visible objects as being visible to the viewpoint.

A data processing system for processing a scene for a viewpoint, wherein the scene contains a plurality of objects, the data processing system comprising:

• receiving means for receiving data for the scene, wherein the data includes bounding boxes for the plurality of objects and complexity data for the plurality of objects;
• selecting means for selecting a set of visible objects from the plurality of objects using the data for the scene;
• and
• identifying means for identifying objects visible to the viewpoint by comparing unselected objects from the plurality of objects to the set of visible objects.

A computer program product in a computer readable medium for displaying a drawing for a view point, wherein the drawing includes a set of objects, the computer program product comprising:

• first instructions for receiving a plurality of bounding boxes and complexity data for the set of objects, wherein a bounding box and complexity data is associated with each object within the set of objects;
• second instructions for selecting occluders within the set of objects using the plurality of bounding boxes;
• and
• third instructions for identifying objects from the set of objects that are visible for the viewpoint.

A computer program product in a computer readable medium for processing a scene for a viewpoint, wherein the scene contains a plurality of objects, the computer program product comprising:

• first instructions for receiving data for the scene, the scene comprising a plurality of objects, each object having a complexity value;
• second instructions for selecting a first set of visible objects, which have a complexity value greater than a selected threshold, from the plurality of objects;
• third instructions for rendering the first set of visible objects in order to obtain depth data;
• fourth instructions for using the depth data to select a second set of visible objects from the plurality of objects in the scene that were not selected in the first set;
• and
• fifth instructions for displaying the first and second set of visible objects as being visible to the viewpoint.