Patent ID: 8134556

Claim:
A computer implemented method of providing a photo-realistic view on demand of a real-time interactive three dimensional simulation, the method comprising: providing a real-time interactive three dimensional simulation comprising physical objects and environmental objects; selecting a camera position; and ray tracing said provided real-time interactive three dimensional simulation as a function of said selected camera position thereby providing the photo-realistic view, said ray tracing comprising: drawing all physical objects of said provided real-time interactive three dimensional simulation as a function of said selected camera position with no lighting and no textures; reading the depth buffer values corresponding to said drawing with no lighting and no textures; drawing all environmental objects of said provided real-time interactive three dimensional simulation as a function of said selected camera position with lighting and textures; storing the color of each of said drawn environmental objects in a color buffer; iterating said provided real-time interactive three dimensional simulation as a function of said selected camera position pixel by pixel; and performing, in the event that the depth buffer value of a particular pixel is less than one, a ray tracing algorithm on the particular pixel.