Ray Tracing Micropolygon Hierarchy Decomposition
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for building acceleration data structures for efficient ray tracing of highly complex geometry are prohibitively expensive or restrictive, limiting the modeling of geometry.
Innovation Solution
A system that establishes a first hierarchy of objects, decomposes potentially intersected objects into subobjects on-demand, and creates a second hierarchy based on subobject connectivity to accelerate ray tracing, allowing for efficient identification of intersected objects and reducing self-intersection issues through ray offsetting.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a traditional acceleration data structure is built for highly complex geometry, then ray tracing efficiency is improved, but the computational cost and complexity of building the structure becomes prohibitively expensive
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the complex geometry into micropolygon primitives organized in a hierarchical structure. Instead of building a single complex acceleration structure for the entire scene, the geometry is divided into manageable micropolygon groups that can be processed independently, reducing the overall complexity while maintaining ray tracing efficiency
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs dynamic decomposition where objects are decomposed into micropolygons on-demand during ray tracing rather than pre-processing the entire scene. This dynamic approach allows the system to adaptively create acceleration structures only where needed, reducing unnecessary computational overhead and complexity
2Productivity
If traditional acceleration structures are used, then ray tracing performance is improved, but restrictions are imposed on how the geometry must be modeled
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transforms complex continuous geometry into discrete micropolygon representations by changing the parameterization of surfaces. This allows arbitrary complex geometry to be represented in a standardized micropolygon format that works efficiently with the ray tracing algorithm, removing modeling restrictions while maintaining performance
Solution Approach 2:
By segmenting geometry into micropolygon primitives, the patent enables flexible modeling of complex shapes without requiring the entire geometry to conform to rigid acceleration structure requirements. Each micropolygon can be independently defined and combined to represent any desired geometry
3Measurement precision
If objects are decomposed into subobjects, then ray tracing accuracy is improved by reducing self-intersection issues, but the computational overhead of decomposition increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary decomposition of objects into micropolygons and establishes hierarchical structures in advance for static geometry. This pre-processing eliminates the need for repeated decomposition during ray tracing, reducing computational overhead while maintaining accuracy in preventing self-intersection artifacts
Data Source
AI summary
A system, method, and computer program product are provided for efficiently ray tracing micropolygon or other highly complex geometry. In operation, a first hierarchy of a plurality of objects is established. Additionally, rays are traced using the first hierarchy to efficiently identify which of the plurality of objects are potentially intersected. Furthermore, at least one of the potentially intersected objects are decomposed, on-demand, into a set of subobjects, each set of subobjects corresponding to one of the at least one of the potentially intersected objects. Still yet, a second hierarchy is established for at least one of the set of subobjects, the second hierarchy being determined by a connectivity of subobjects in an associated set of subobjects in order to accelerate ray tracing.