Patent ID: 8115767
Filing Date: 2012-02-14
Classification: G06T

Abstract:
1. A method, executable in a computer processor operable to render images for display on a human-perceptible display element, the rendering comprising processing of data corresponding to triangles, each triangle having edges, vertices and an associated triangle plane, and the displaying comprising the display of shadows in three-dimensional (3D) scenes, the shadows being displayed in relation to a simulated light source, the method comprising: executing, in the computer processor, a shadow volume creation method, the shadow volume creation method comprising: for each non-degenerated triangle used in image rendering: (1) computing, in the computer processor, a parameter d of a triangle as the dot product between the surface normal and the direction from an arbitrary point on the triangle plane to the light source; (2) creating, in the computer processor, shadow caps, the creating of shadow caps comprising: (3) in the computer processor, extruding to infinity each edge of the triangle for which the d parameter of a triangle being processed has a different sign than the d parameter for an adjacent triangle, and rendering the resulting quadrilateral, extruding also to infinity edges that do not have an adjacent triangle associated therewith, and again utilizing the positive or negative sign of parameter d to adjust vertex ordering, and further comprising: executing, in the computer processor, a bounding volume hierarchy (BVH) traversal method, the BVH method comprising: