Patent · US Expired

Efficient rendering of similar objects in a three-dimensional graphics engine

US7209139B1 · kind B1 · utility

36Cited by
5References
9Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateJan 7, 2005
Grant dateApr 24, 2007
Priority date
Expiry dateSep 20, 2025

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC G)Physics
  • CPC primaryG06T15/005
  • WIPO fieldComputer technology
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

Multiple instances of a single object are aggregated and submitted collectively to a graphics API for rendering. Vertices of the object are replicated into a large buffer and are modified so as to be bound to different transformation matrices in a matrix palette. An index buffer of the object is similarly replicated. Each replicated index buffer is modified to refer to vertices of a different, respective set of replicated vertices. Thus, the large vertex and index buffers are initialized to contain multiple, distinct, and independent copies of the object. Instancing logic aggregates matrix palettes of individual instances of the same object into an aggregated matrix palette and sends the aggregated vertex and index buffers of the object along with the accumulated aggregated matrix palette to the graphics API for rendering. The graphics API resolves the aggregated vertex and index buffers and matrix palette to a collection of triangles in display coordinates to be rasterized, not knowing or caring that the collection of triangles represent not one object but many objects.

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.