Ray tracing a three-dimensional scene using a hierarchical data structure

A method for ray tracing a three-dimensional scene made up of geometric primitives that are spatially partitioned into a hierarchical data structure, the hierarchical data structure including at least a parent node and a corresponding plurality of child nodes, the method comprising:

• a first act of determining that a group of rays comprising all active rays in the packet conservatively misses the parent node;
• and
• a second act of discarding each of the plurality of child nodes.

A method for ray tracing a three-dimensional scene made up of geometric primitives that are spatially partitioned into a hierarchical data structure, the hierarchical data structure including at least a parent node and a corresponding plurality of child nodes, the method comprising:

• a first act of determining that a first active ray in the packet does not hit the parent node;
• and
• a second act of testing a group of rays comprising all active rays in the packet to determine if the group conservatively misses the parent node.

A method for ray tracing a three-dimensional scene made up of geometric primitives that are spatially partitioned into a hierarchical data structure, the hierarchical data structure including at least a parent node and a corresponding plurality of child nodes, the method comprising:

• a first act of determining that a group of rays comprising all active rays in the packet does not conservatively miss the parent node;
• and
• a second act of testing a first active ray in the packet to determine if the first active ray hits the parent node.