Hybrid Ray Tracing and Rasterization with Visibility-Based Ray Culling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing graphics processing units (GPUs) struggle to efficiently combine rasterization and ray tracing for real-time rendering, as ray tracing tasks are not well-suited for hardware optimized for rasterization, leading to inefficiencies in achieving desired frame rates and quality.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a hybrid system that performs ray tracing concurrently with rasterization, using techniques like immediate and deferred mode rendering, ray culling, and concurrent processing to optimize ray tracing tasks that contribute to the final rendering product.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If ray tracing is performed on hardware optimized for rasterization, then rendering quality is improved, but processing efficiency and frame rate deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the rendering process into distinct rasterization and ray tracing passes. The rasterization pass identifies visible surfaces and emits rays, while the ray tracing pass processes only those rays that may contribute to the final image. This segmentation allows each pass to be optimized for its specific task, improving overall efficiency.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements partial ray tracing by only processing rays that are likely to contribute to the final image. Rays are culled based on depth buffer information from the rasterization pass, avoiding unnecessary ray tracing computations for surfaces that are not visible or are occluded. This partial action maintains rendering quality while improving frame rate.
2Reliability
If all ray tracing tasks are processed, then rendering completeness is improved, but computation time and resources increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary rasterization to determine visible surfaces and their depth information before executing ray tracing. This preliminary action provides depth buffer data that is used to cull rays that would not contribute to the final image, eliminating wasted computation time while ensuring all contributing rays are processed.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses feedback from the rasterization pass (depth buffer information) to guide the ray tracing process. Rays are culled based on depth comparisons with visible surfaces identified during rasterization. This feedback mechanism ensures rendering completeness by processing only relevant rays while reducing computation time by eliminating irrelevant ones.
3Ease of operation
If ray tracing and rasterization are performed sequentially, then processing simplicity is improved, but rendering throughput deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements continuous useful action by overlapping the ray tracing pass with subsequent rasterization passes. While ray tracing is processing rays from the first rasterization pass, the system can begin the next rasterization pass, ensuring that hardware resources remain continuously utilized without idle periods between sequential passes.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs periodic action by alternating between rasterization and ray tracing passes in a structured sequence. The renderer periodically switches between these two distinct processing modes, with each pass serving a specific function. This periodic alternation maintains processing simplicity through clear phase separation while improving throughput through efficient resource utilization during each phase.
Data Source
AI summary
Rendering systems that can use combinations of rasterization rendering processes and ray tracing rendering processes are disclosed. In some implementations, these systems perform a rasterization pass to identify visible surfaces of pixels in an image. Some implementations may begin shading processes for visible surfaces, before the geometry is entirely processed, in which rays are emitted. Rays can be culled at various points during processing, based on determining whether the surface from which the ray was emitted is still visible. Rendering systems may implement rendering effects as disclosed.