High-throughput CORDIC-based geometry operations for 3D computer graphics

Graphics processors require strong arithmetic support to perform computational kernels over data streams. Because of the current implementation using the basic arithmetic operations, the algorithms are given in algebraic terms. However, since the operations are really of a geometric nature, it seems to us that more flexibility in the implementation is obtained if the description is given in a high-level geometrical form. As a consequence of this line of thought, this paper is an attempt to reconsider some kernels in a graphics processor to obtain implementations that are potentially more scalable than just replicating the modules used in conventional implementations. We present the formulation of representative 3D computer graphics operations in terms of CORDIC-type primitives. Then, we briefly outline a stream processor based on CORDIC-type modules to efficiently implement these graphic operations. We perform a rough comparison with current implementations and conclude that the CORDIC-based alternative might be attractive.