Delta Instance Acceleration Structures for Compact Ray Tracing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Ray tracing operations are computationally expensive due to the need to test rays against numerous triangles in a scene, and existing acceleration structures require significant storage for near copies with minor geometric changes.
Innovation Solution
Implementing bottom-level acceleration structures with delta instances, which use pointers and indices to share common data and apply delta values for minor geometric variations, reducing data redundancy and computational overhead.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If traditional acceleration structures store separate copies of geometric data for each instance, then geometric accuracy is maintained, but storage requirements increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges common geometric data across multiple instances into a single shared copy within the acceleration structure. Instead of storing separate copies for each instance, the system stores one master copy and references it from multiple instance entries, thereby reducing storage requirements while maintaining geometric accuracy through shared reference.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates reference copies rather than full data copies. Each instance in the acceleration structure contains a reference or pointer to the shared geometric data rather than duplicating the actual geometric information, enabling efficient storage while preserving complete geometric accuracy when needed.
2Measurement precision
If acceleration structures store detailed geometric data for all instances, then ray tracing accuracy is improved, but computational overhead increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the storage of detailed geometric data into a single shared location within the acceleration structure, while multiple instances reference this shared data. This reduces computational overhead by eliminating redundant data handling while maintaining ray tracing accuracy through shared access to the complete geometric information.
3Manufacturing precision
If separate acceleration structures are created for each instance variant, then instance-specific accuracy is maintained, but data redundancy increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges instances with similar or identical geometric data into a single shared acceleration structure entry. Instead of creating separate structures for each instance variant, the system consolidates them by storing one copy of the common geometric data and creating multiple references to it, thereby eliminating data redundancy while preserving instance-specific accuracy through selective instantiation.
Data Source
AI summary
Described herein is a technique for performing ray tracing operations. The technique includes encountering, at a non-leaf node, a pointer to a bottom-level acceleration structure having one or more delta instances; identifying an index associated with the pointer, wherein the index identifies an instance within the bottom-level acceleration structure; and obtaining data for the instance based on the pointer and the index.