	US 12,014,457 B2
	Importance sampling for determining a light map
Luke T. Peterson, San Francisco, CA (US); Justin P. DeCell, San Francisco, CA (US); and Jens Fursund, San Francisco, CA (US)
Assigned to Imagination Technologies Limited, Kings Langley (GB)
Filed by Imagination Technologies Limited, Kings Langley (GB)
Filed on Oct. 19, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/969,383.
Application 17/969,383 is a continuation of application No. 17/308,979, filed on May 5, 2021, granted, now 11,494,970, issued on Nov. 8, 2022.
Application 17/308,979 is a continuation of application No. 16/400,594, filed on May 1, 2019, granted, now 11,030,794, issued on Jun. 8, 2021.
Application 16/400,594 is a continuation of application No. 15/456,865, filed on Mar. 13, 2017, granted, now 10,325,401, issued on Jun. 18, 2019.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/306,887, filed on Mar. 11, 2016.
Prior Publication US 2023/0052585 A1, Feb. 16, 2023
This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.
Int. Cl. G06T 15/06 (2011.01); G06T 15/00 (2011.01); G06T 15/04 (2011.01); G06T 15/50 (2011.01)

CPC G06T 15/06 (2013.01) [G06T 15/00 (2013.01); G06T 15/005 (2013.01); G06T 15/04 (2013.01); G06T 15/506 (2013.01); G06T 2215/12 (2013.01); G06T 2215/16 (2013.01)]

20 Claims

1. A graphics processing unit configured to determine bounced lighting for a scene for use in rendering the scene, the graphics processing unit comprising:

processing logic configured to:

determine initial lighting indications, wherein elements of the initial lighting indications represent lighting at respective 3D positions within the scene,

determine a visible surface from a viewpoint within a scene for each of a plurality of pixels, and

for each of the pixels:

identify, using a pseudorandom technique, one or more of the 3D positions corresponding to elements of the initial lighting indications;

trace one or more sampling rays between a position in the scene corresponding to the position of the visible surface determined for the pixel and the respective one or more identified positions; and

determine a lighting value for the visible surface determined for the pixel using one or more results of the tracing of the one or more sampling rays.