Stereo rendering of rain in real-time

The rendering of photorealistic rain has been previously studied for monoscopic viewing. We extend the monoscopic statistical rain models to simulate the behavior and distribution of falling rain for stereo viewing. Our goal is to be able to render in real-time frame rates. In this investigation we ignore the complex issues of scene illumination and concentrate on the parameters that produce a realistic rain distribution. Using the concept of retinal persistence we render a visible falling raindrop as a linear streak. To speed rendering we use pre-computed images of such rain streaks. Rain streak positions for the left- and right-eye views are created by generating random numbers that depend on the view volume of the scene. We permit interactive but controlled modification of rain parameters such as density and wind gusts. We compare our approach to the use of existing 2D-3D conversion methods. The results demonstrate that using commercial 2D-3D converters are not sufficient in producing realistic stereo rain effects. Future research will concentrate on including complex lighting interactions.