Motion Splitting Bounding Volume Hierarchy for Ray Tracing Motion Blur

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current ray tracing techniques inadequately address the simulation of motion blur, leading to inefficient traversals due to large overlap between bounding volumes.

Innovation Solution

A hierarchical acceleration data structure, specifically a motion splitting bounding volume hierarchy (MSBVH), is constructed to support ray tracing of motion blur, which includes interpolating node bounding boxes and performing spatial partitioning to efficiently adjust to time within a shutter interval, reducing node overlap and improving rendering performance.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If traditional bounding volume hierarchies are used for ray tracing, then the structure is simple to construct, but the overlap between bounding volumes is large resulting in inefficient traversals

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveray tracing efficiencyVSAvoidhierarchy construction complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent divides the bounding volume hierarchy into multiple segments or levels, where each level handles different aspects of the scene. This segmentation reduces overlap between bounding volumes at any given level while maintaining the overall hierarchical structure, thereby improving traversal efficiency without excessive complexity

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The patent introduces an additional dimension to the traditional bounding volume hierarchy by incorporating temporal information for motion blur. This creates a multi-dimensional acceleration structure that better organizes objects in space-time, reducing overlap and improving ray tracing efficiency for motion blur scenarios

Inventive Principle:
Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

2Productivity

If bounding volumes are made tighter to reduce overlap, then traversal efficiency improves, but the construction complexity and computational cost increase

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvetraversal efficiencyVSAvoidbounding volume construction complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent performs preliminary computations during the hierarchy construction phase to pre-calculate optimized bounding volumes that minimize overlap. By doing the complex work upfront rather than during traversal, the actual ray tracing operations benefit from pre-optimized structures without incurring runtime penalties

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent adjusts various parameters of the bounding volumes such as orientation, size, and position to optimize the hierarchy. By changing these parameters systematically during construction, the patent achieves tighter bounding volumes that reduce overlap while controlling construction complexity through automated optimization

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

3Reliability

If motion blur is simulated using current techniques, then the implementation is simple, but the result is inadequate motion blur simulation

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvemotion blur simulation accuracyVSAvoidray tracing structure complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent introduces an intermediary acceleration structure specifically designed for motion blur that sits between the scene geometry and the ray tracing algorithm. This intermediary structure handles the temporal aspects of motion blur separately, providing accurate simulation while keeping the overall system manageable through modular design

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Data Source

PatentUS9430863B1System, method, and computer program product for constructing a hierarchical acceleration data structure that supports ray tracing of motion blur
Publication Date: 2016.08.30 NVIDIA CORP
  • US9430863B1 patent drawing
  • US9430863B1 patent drawing
  • US9430863B1 patent drawing

AI summary

A system, method, and computer program product are provided for constructing a hierarchical acceleration data structure that supports ray tracing of motion blur. In use, scene description data associated with an image to be generated is received. Additionally, a hierarchical acceleration data structure for performing ray tracing on the scene description data is constructed, where the hierarchical acceleration data structure supports ray tracing of motion blur.