voxelized

Voxelized describes a representation or processing approach in which a three-dimensional object is described as a grid of volumetric pixels, or voxels. Voxelization is the process of converting a geometry—typically a polygonal surface or a solid model—into this regular grid, with each voxel encoding properties such as occupancy, density, or color. Voxel representations preserve volumetric structure and can provide uniform sampling throughout the volume, which is useful for tasks where surface-only descriptions are insufficient.

Voxelization methods vary by goal and performance. Surface voxelization rasterizes the surface into a voxel grid, marking voxels touched by the mesh; solid voxelization fills the interior to produce a fully occupied volume. Approaches include ray casting, scan conversion, and distance-field techniques such as signed distance fields (SDFs) that approximate surfaces. To manage memory, many systems use adaptive or sparse grids, often implemented with octrees or sparse voxel octrees, enabling higher resolution where detail is needed while keeping storage reasonable.

Applications span computer graphics, visualization, and simulation. In medical imaging, voxel grids represent volumetric scans such as CT or MRI data. In computer graphics and games, voxelization enables volumetric effects, collision detection, and real-time global illumination techniques like voxel cone tracing. In manufacturing, voxel-based representations support additive manufacturing and simulations. Voxel grids are also used in fluid dynamics, material science, and geoscience for volumetric analysis and rendering.

Limitations include high memory usage at fine resolutions and potential aliasing or artifacts at geometry boundaries. Quality depends on voxel size and interpolation methods. Real-time voxelization often relies on hierarchical data structures and GPU acceleration to balance accuracy and performance. The term voxel originates from "volumetric pixel" and is widely used in research and industry to describe discrete volumetric representations.