Sampler Feedback Texture Space Shading Memory Allocation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current texture space shading (TSS) techniques are inefficient due to assumptions about texture resolution matching screen resolution, leading to increased texture memory usage and compatibility issues with procedural and out-of-core geometry, and are unsuitable for scenarios like texture tiling and procedural texture generation.
Innovation Solution
A method that assigns shading elements to groups, calculates offset values based on visible elements, and allocates texture memory dynamically to enable TSS in scenarios where texture resolution differs from screen resolution, using a real-time dicing oracle for view-dependent mip region mapping and sampler feedback.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If current TSS techniques use precomputed triangle identifier texture, then texture space shading can be performed, but texture memory usage increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the texture memory allocation by dividing shading elements into groups and assigning each group a dedicated texture memory region. This is achieved through grouping shading elements based on their spatial coherence and allocating memory blocks correspondingly, reducing overall memory usage while maintaining TSS functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements dynamic texture memory allocation where memory regions are assigned and reassigned based on the actual rendering needs of different frames. The system dynamically adjusts which texture memory regions are active based on visible shading elements, eliminating the need for large preallocated memory spaces.
2Device complexity
If current TSS techniques assume texture resolution matches screen resolution, then processing can be simplified, but compatibility with procedural and out-of-core geometry is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent dynamically adjusts the texture resolution based on the actual geometry being rendered and the viewing frustum. Instead of assuming a fixed resolution match, the system adapts the sampling rate and texture resolution dynamically, allowing compatibility with procedural geometry and out-of-core geometry while maintaining efficient processing.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes key parameters including sampling rate, texture resolution, and mip level based on the geometry type and viewing conditions. This allows the same TSS framework to handle different geometry types (procedural, out-of-core, static) by adjusting parameters rather than requiring separate processing paths.
3Device complexity
If all shading elements are allocated texture memory uniformly, then allocation is simple, but memory efficiency decreases when many elements are invisible
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by differentiating the treatment of visible and invisible shading elements. Visible elements receive full texture memory allocation while invisible elements are excluded from allocation. This is achieved by first determining visibility and then selectively allocating memory based on visibility status, optimizing memory usage without significantly complicating the allocation process.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses partial action by allocating texture memory only to the subset of shading elements that are actually visible in the current view, rather than uniformly allocating to all elements. This selective allocation reduces memory usage while maintaining simplicity through batched processing of visibility determination and memory assignment.
Data Source
AI summary
This disclosure provides systems, devices, apparatus, and methods, including computer programs encoded on storage media, for sampler feedback for texture space shading. A processor may assign each shading element in a set of shading elements associated with a geometry unit to a corresponding shading element group in a set of shading element groups. The processor may identify whether each shading element is a visible shading element. The processor may calculate a group offset value for each shading element group in the set of shading element groups based on a number of visible shading elements in the set of shading elements. The processor may calculate an element offset value for each shading element based on a number of visible shading elements. The processor may allocate, based on the element offset value and the group offset value, texture memory to the visible shading elements.