Ray Coordinate System Basis Vectors for Intersection Testing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current ray tracing systems face significant computational challenges in performing intersection tests efficiently, particularly when dealing with large scenes and complex geometries, leading to high latency, power consumption, and silicon area requirements, especially when implementing these tests in hardware.
Innovation Solution
The method involves using a ray-coordinate system with specific basis vectors aligned with the ray direction and orthogonal vectors to simplify intersection testing, reducing the number of tests needed by transforming the ray and box into this coordinate system and utilizing fixed function circuitry for efficient processing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional intersection testing methods are used in ray tracing systems, then comprehensive scene coverage and accurate intersection detection are achieved, but computational complexity, latency, and resource consumption increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transforms the intersection testing problem by changing the coordinate system parameters from world space to ray space. By defining a new coordinate system where the ray direction becomes the z-axis and the ray origin becomes the origin point, the patent simplifies the mathematical parameters involved in intersection testing, reducing computational complexity while maintaining detection accuracy
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary coordinate transformation step between the ray definition and the box intersection test. By using basis vectors (Sr, Sp, Sq) as an intermediary framework, the patent mediates the complex 3D spatial relationship into a simplified coordinate system where intersection testing requires fewer operations
2Speed
If hardware implementation of intersection testing is performed, then real-time rendering capability is achieved, but silicon area and power consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and eliminates redundant computational operations from the intersection testing algorithm. By removing unnecessary calculations through coordinate system transformation, the patent reduces the number of arithmetic operations that need to be performed in hardware, thereby reducing silicon area requirements while maintaining real-time rendering speed
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the intersection testing process into distinct phases: coordinate transformation using pre-defined basis vectors, followed by simplified box intersection testing. This segmentation allows hardware to optimize each phase independently, reducing overall circuit complexity and silicon area
3Reliability
If comprehensive intersection testing is performed for all nodes in acceleration structure, then no intersection is missed, but processing time and computational resources increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies partial action by performing simplified intersection tests that check only the essential conditions in ray space. By testing only the critical intersection conditions rather than all possible scenarios, the patent achieves sufficient detection completeness with reduced processing time
Data Source
AI summary
A method and an intersection testing module for performing intersection testing of a ray with a box in a ray tracing system. The ray and the box are defined in a 3D space using a space-coordinate system, and the ray is defined with a ray origin and a ray direction. A ray-coordinate system is used to perform intersection testing, wherein the ray-coordinate system has an origin at the ray origin, and the ray-coordinate system has three basis vectors. A first of the basis vectors is aligned with the ray direction. A second and a third of the basis vectors: (i) are both orthogonal to the first basis vector, (ii) are not parallel with each other, and (iii) have a zero as one component when expressed in the space-coordinate system. A result of performing the intersection testing is outputted for use by the ray tracing system.