Ray tracking method and system

Abstract

Embodiments of the invention provide methods and apparatus for pre-fetching bounding volume information while tracing a ray through a spatial index. According to one embodiment of the invention, a first ray may be traced through a spatial index and a traversal history may be recorded. Later, a subsequent ray may be issued into a three dimensional scene which may have a similar trajectory as the first ray. The subsequent ray may intersect the same bounding volumes as the first ray as it is traversed through the spatial index. Therefore, the recorded traversal history may be used to pre-fetch bounding volume information while traversing the subsequent ray through the spatial index. By pre-fetching the bounding volume information, the amount of time to traverse the subsequent ray through the spatial index may be reduced.

Description

technical field [0001] Embodiments of the invention relate generally to the field of computer processing. Background technique [0002] The process of rendering a two-dimensional image from a three-dimensional scene is often referred to as image processing. As the modern computer industry develops, so does image processing. A specific goal in the development of image processing is to perform 2D simulations or render 3D scenes as realistically as possible. One limitation of rendering realistic images is that modern monitors display images through the use of pixels. [0003] A pixel is the smallest area of ​​space on a monitor that can be illuminated. Most modern computer monitors use a combination of hundreds of thousands or millions of pixels to make up an entire display or render a scene. The individual pixels are arranged in a grid pattern and collectively cover the entire field of view of the monitor. Each individual pixel can be illuminated to render the final image...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

As a result, ray tracing does not degrade in terms of computational power requirements as does rasterization as the scene becomes more complex

[0009] A major disadvantage of ray tracing is the large amount of calculations, and the amount of processing power required to render the scene

This causes problems when fast rendering is required

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