Asset Server Texture Sharing Reduces Graphics Memory Footprint
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
In communication devices, multiple applications using the same graphics asset result in redundant texture copies in the graphics processor memory, leading to inefficient use of memory resources due to the way Open Graphics Library and graphics processors handle assets.
Innovation Solution
Implementing an asset server that shares a graphics asset and its corresponding texture with multiple applications, allowing the graphics processor to render instances based on the shared texture, thereby reducing the number of textures stored in memory.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If each application copies its own texture of a graphics asset into the graphics processor memory, then each application can independently access and render the asset, but multiple redundant texture copies are created leading to inefficient memory usage
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple application-specific texture copies into a single shared texture in the graphics processor memory. The asset server creates one master texture that multiple applications can reference simultaneously, eliminating redundant copies while maintaining each application's ability to access and render assets independently through shared memory resources.
Solution Approach 2:
The shared texture in the graphics processor memory serves multiple functions simultaneously - it acts as the texture source for multiple different applications at the same time. This universal texture resource replaces what would otherwise require multiple separate texture copies, each dedicated to a single application, thereby improving memory efficiency while maintaining functional independence.
2Ease of operation
If multiple texture copies are created in the graphics processor memory for the same asset, then each application has dedicated access to its texture, but the memory footprint and redundancy increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple application-specific texture resources into a single shared texture stored in the graphics processor memory. This merged resource maintains ease of access for each application through shared memory interfaces while dramatically reducing the overall memory footprint by eliminating redundant texture data copies.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of copying the actual texture data multiple times into graphics processor memory, the system creates a single master texture copy and allows multiple applications to reference this shared copy. The copying operation is performed once at the asset server level rather than repeatedly in the graphics processor, reducing memory footprint while maintaining access functionality.
3Quantity of substance
If a single shared texture is used in the graphics processor for multiple applications, then memory usage is optimized, but the system requires an asset server process to manage texture sharing
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an asset server process as an intermediary between applications and the graphics processor. This mediator manages the creation and sharing of textures in graphics processor memory, coordinating access from multiple applications while optimizing memory usage. The added complexity at the software management level enables significant memory efficiency gains at the hardware level.
Solution Approach 2:
The asset server performs preliminary actions by pre-creating and pre-loading the shared texture into graphics processor memory before multiple applications need to access it. This advance preparation eliminates the need for each application to independently copy textures, reducing overall memory usage while the asset server manages the sharing coordination.
Data Source
AI summary
In a communication device with a graphics processor, a graphics asset can be shared with two or more applications. The graphics asset can include a bitmap of a digital image. An asset server can host a texture corresponding to the graphics asset and can share the texture with the graphics processor. The asset server can host multiple textures and can share those textures with the graphics processor for rendering. The graphics processor can use the shared texture to render an instance of the graphics asset for each of the two or more applications. The texture can be generated by copying information about the graphics asset into the asset server.