Ron Weitzman
ABSTRACT
Ray Tracing has played a pivotal role in enhancing the visual realism of computer-generated images, movies, and, more recently, games. It involves simulating the behavior of light rays and has traditionally demanded substantial computational resources and specialized expertise. Despite significant technological advancements in Augmented Reality (AR), the absence of this crucial component has resulted in graphics that lack authenticity.
However, in February 2023, Snap introduced a new version of its AR authoring tool, Lens Studio, which enables developers to seamlessly integrate real-time Ray Tracing into AR experiences, bridging this gap. Snap has become the pioneer in delivering real-time Ray Tracing capabilities to mobile devices across iOS and Android, achieving scalability without relying on dedicated hardware. This accomplishment is attributed to a novel ray tracing pipeline that has emerged from five years of extensive research and development, meticulously tailored to address the resource constraints and limitations of standard mobile GPUs.
The combination of Ray Tracing and other advanced AR tools empowers developers to bring remarkably realistic experiences that blur the boundaries between the digital and physical realms. Notably, industry leaders such as Tiffany & Co. and Disney are some of the brands already embracing the potential of Ray Tracing on Snapchat.
Supplemental Material
- Artur Lira dos Santos, Diego Lemos, Jorge Lindoso, and Veronica Teichrieb. 2012. Real Time Ray Tracing for Augmented Reality. 14th Symposium on Virtual and Augmented Reality, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 2012, pp. 131-140, https://doi.org/10.1109/SVR.2012.8Google Scholar
Digital Library
Index Terms
- Real Time Ray Tracing in AR
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