Ray Tracing Contained Regions for Faster Object Intersection Tests
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing ray tracing systems face inefficiencies in determining intersections with objects, particularly for non-closed objects, leading to excessive computational effort and power consumption, especially when using acceleration structures like BVH, as they often require costly triangle tests and extensive traversal to leaf nodes.
Innovation Solution
Generate contained regions within objects by partitioning volumes into voxels, categorizing boundary voxels, determining occlusion utility metrics, and expanding candidate voxels to create contained regions that facilitate early intersection determination with rays, reducing the need for triangle tests and traversal.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If acceleration structures like BVH are used to reduce intersection tests, then the number of intersection tests is reduced, but the traversal to leaf nodes and triangle tests become more computationally expensive
Solution Approach 1:
The object is segmented into multiple contained regions (voxels) that can be independently tested against rays. This segmentation allows the system to perform cheaper voxel intersection tests instead of expensive triangle tests, while still achieving accurate intersection detection by combining results from multiple voxel tests.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention introduces a new spatial dimension by placing contained regions inside objects. This creates a hierarchical testing structure where rays are first tested against bounding volumes, then against contained regions within intersected objects, adding an intermediate testing layer that reduces the need for leaf node traversal and triangle tests.
2Reliability
If traditional ray tracing methods are used with acceleration structures, then intersection testing can be performed, but the computational load and power consumption are excessive for complex scenes
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of performing complete triangle tests for every ray-object intersection, the system performs partial intersection tests against contained regions. By testing against multiple contained regions and combining results, the system achieves accurate intersection detection with less computational effort than traditional methods.
Solution Approach 2:
Contained regions serve as intermediary objects between rays and the actual object geometry. These intermediaries provide a simplified representation that can be quickly tested against rays, acting as a filter that reduces the number of expensive triangle tests needed while maintaining intersection testing accuracy.
3Measurement precision
If leaf node traversal is performed to determine object intersection, then accurate intersection results are obtained, but the traversal depth and computational steps increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
Contained regions are pre-positioned within objects during scene preparation. This preliminary action allows the system to perform intersection tests at higher levels of the acceleration structure without needing to traverse to leaf nodes, as the contained regions provide sufficient information for accurate intersection determination in many cases.
Data Source
AI summary
A contained region facilitating determining whether a ray intersects an object of a scene in a ray tracing system is generated, wherein the object is contained within finite bounding regions forming an object partitioning hierarchy. The volume inside the finite bounding regions is partitioned into voxels categorised by identifying a subset of boundary voxels that lie within extents of a geometry defined by the object and which intersect with the object's contiguous surface. An occlusion utility metric comprises a component quantifying a maximum number of boundary voxels lying in a contiguous chain that intersect the contiguous surface of the object. A boundary voxel is selected to be a candidate voxel for transformation into a contained region. An expanded volume of the candidate voxel is generated through at least one dimension to obtain an expanded voxel contained within, and smaller than, the extents of the geometry defined by the object. The expanded voxel is allocated as a contained region.