Patent ID: 9704283
Date: 2017-07-11
CPC Classifications: G06T

Claim:
1. A method for use in rendering a computer graphics image from 3-D scene data, comprising: tracing, by a processor, a ray in a 3-D scene defined by said 3-D scene data, in a direction and originating from a point up to a first end of a transition zone, and continuing through the transition zone to a second end of the transition zone; wherein the first end of the transition zone is separated from the point by a first distance, such that the ray is traced the first distance before entering the transition zone, and the second end of the transition zone is separated from the point by a second distance greater than the first distance; if no intersection was detected for the ray closer than the first end of the transition zone, then collecting light energy data from volume elements intersected by the conic section during the marching; and producing, by a processor, shading information for the point in the 3-D scene from the collected light energy from the volume elements, wherein said shading information is used in rendering said computer graphics image.