BVH Construction via 2D to 3D Tile Conversion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional ray tracing systems face high computational costs, limiting their use to offline rendering, and existing methods for constructing bounding volume hierarchies (BVH) trees are inefficient, especially in parallel processor architectures.
Innovation Solution
A method and system that construct a BVH tree by generating 2D tiles from primitives, converting them into 3D tiles, and using a combination of CPU and GPU resources to optimize the tree construction, employing cache-based fixed function hardware and parallel processing for efficient execution in hybrid rendering.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If conventional ray tracing systems are used, then high quality graphics rendering is achieved, but computational cost becomes too high for interactive use
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the BVH construction process into multiple phases: a coarse BVH construction phase using simplified representations, and a refinement phase using detailed representations. This allows the system to achieve high rendering quality through the refined BVH while keeping initial computational costs manageable through the coarse phase
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs preliminary BVH construction using coarse representations of objects before refining with detailed representations. This preliminary action establishes a basic acceleration structure quickly, and only the necessary refinements are applied later, reducing overall computational burden while maintaining quality
2Productivity
If BVH tree construction is performed using conventional methods, then tree structure is built, but construction efficiency is low especially in parallel processor architectures
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the BVH construction task into independent segments that can be processed in parallel. Different portions of the scene or different levels of the tree can be constructed simultaneously by multiple processing units, improving productivity while managing complexity through structured division of work
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs dynamic adjustment of construction strategies based on scene complexity and hardware capabilities. The system can adaptively choose between different construction methods (coarse vs. refined, sequential vs. parallel) to optimize efficiency for specific scenarios without overwhelming complexity
3Speed
If ray tracing is implemented for interactive use, then real-time rendering is achieved, but computational requirements become too high
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary BVH construction and object representation simplification before actual ray tracing occurs. By preparing optimized acceleration structures in advance using coarse representations, the system reduces computational requirements during interactive rendering while maintaining achievable frame rates
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes representation parameters dynamically - using simplified geometric representations for BVH construction and only applying detailed representations when necessary during ray tracing. This parameter change strategy reduces computational requirements while maintaining interactive performance
Data Source
AI summary
A method and apparatus to construct a bounding volume hierarchy (BVH) tree includes: generating 2-dimensional (2D) tiles including primitives; converting the 2D tiles into 3-dimensional (3D) tiles; and constructing the BVH tree based on the 3D tiles.