nVidia shader patent (REYES/Raytracing/GI) destined for PS3?

[nelg]

Maybe the PS9's NV12x.

 

[Qroach]

You're not getting that for PC or PS3 in that time frame I'm certain.

 

[London Geezer]

Maybe the PS9's NV12x.

Actually, if we consider NVIDIA making a new NV number every 12 months, and an average life cycle of 5 year per playstation, by the time we get to PS9 in 2048, we will have the NV51X, or the GF54xxx.

 

[j^aws]

Ray Tracing on a Stream Processor, Stanford University, March 2004

An interesting, easy to read paper and pertinent since both CPU+GPU will be stream processors in PS3.

 

[Qroach]

You guys *really * need to get this idea out of your head. it's simply not very realistic. PS3 will be powerfull, but not "that" powerful.

 

[Acert93]

Ray Tracing on a Stream Processor, Stanford University, March 2004

An interesting, easy to read paper and pertinent since both CPU+GPU will be stream processors in PS3.

Hi Jaws!

I know GPUs are very parallel devices, are they considered stream processors? If so I learned something today!

If not, do you think the PS3 nVidia GPU will be redone in a way so it can be classified as a "stream processor"?

Thanks

 

[London Geezer]

Ray Tracing on a Stream Processor, Stanford University, March 2004

An interesting, easy to read paper and pertinent since both CPU+GPU will be stream processors in PS3.

Hi Jaws!

I know GPUs are very parallel devices, are they considered stream processors? If so I learned something today!

If not, do you think the PS3 nVidia GPU will be redone in a way so it can be classified as a "stream processor"?

Thanks

Today's GPUs are really a mix of many different architectures, and Stream Processor fits into one of the descriptions you could find for them, depending on the task.

 

[j^aws]

Ray Tracing on a Stream Processor, Stanford University, March 2004

An interesting, easy to read paper and pertinent since both CPU+GPU will be stream processors in PS3.

Hi Jaws!

I know GPUs are very parallel devices, are they considered stream processors? If so I learned something today!
...

Modern programmable GPUs are classed as stream processors and so is a CELL processor. I suppose the simplest definition of a stream processor would be one that executes a stream programming language!

Both the engineering of the processor and the compiler for said processor would determine how efficiently streaming code will execute and hide latencies. But hand coding can further optimise code.

There's some nice info in my above link on stream processing. It's a phD paper that was funded by NVIDIA with experiments performed on NV3x class hardware. Whether NVIDIA implement some of its recomendations two generations later for NV5x class hardware reamains to be seen for PS3. Though the notion of a CELL stream processor and a NV5x stream processor would need to complement each other. If CELL is a SIMD stream processor then the NV5x could be a MIMD stream processor to complement it perhaps...

Also here's some more info on the Imagine stream processor from Standford University,

http://cva.stanford.edu/imagine/

 

[Simon F]

Also here's some more info on the Imagine stream processor from Standford University,

http://cva.stanford.edu/imagine/

"contains 21 million transistors and has a die size of 16mm x 16mm"

I'm not really "au fait" with silicon technology (I'm mainly a SW engineer), but that sounds like a reasonably big lump of silicon for only 21million transistors.

 

[PC-Engine]

Also here's some more info on the Imagine stream processor from Standford University,

http://cva.stanford.edu/imagine/

"contains 21 million transistors and has a die size of 16mm x 16mm"

I'm not really "au fait" with silicon technology (I'm mainly a SW engineer), but that sounds like a reasonably big lump of silicon for only 21million transistors.

Well you'd have to factor in the process technology for a better perspective. What process was it using anyway?

Edit: it's using 150nm process tech so yeah it's pretty big for only 21 million transistors.

 

[j^aws]

***BUMP***

A recent SCE patent,

Method and apparatus for real-time global illumination incorporating stream processor based hybrid ray tracing

...
39. A computing device, comprising: a graphics processing unit (GPU) capable of determining lighting characteristics for an object in real time, the lighting characteristics defined through a basis function, the GPU including a stream processor configured to split a stream of data associated with the lighting characteristics into multiple simultaneous operations.

40. The computing device of claim 39, wherein the computing device is a video game console.

41. The computing device of claim 39, further comprising: a display screen in communication with the GPU, the display screen configured to present image data representing the object.

42. The computing device of claim 39, wherein the stream processor is a programmable hardware unit capable of executing code that is replicated multiple times.

43. The computing device of claim 42, wherein the code that is replicated multiple times is configured to process one of a ray tracing algorithm and multiply and add operations for data derived from the ray tracing algorithm.

44. The computing device of claim 43, wherein the ray tracing algorithm determines a direct illumination lighting characteristic in real time and the multiply an add operation determine a secondary lighting characteristic in real time.

45. The computing device of claim 39, wherein the GPU is further configured to render the object through a process involving linear interpolation, such that the lighting characteristics are applied to the rendered object.

46. The computing device of claim 39, wherein the basis function is one of a wavelet and a spherical basis function.
...

Stream processor = CELL?
GPU = NV5x?
Video game console = PS3?

-----------
Reference,

Below is SCEA presentation at SIGGRAPH circa 2001 on the future of next gen games,

http://www.research.scea.com/research/pdfs/la-siggraph-panel_2001_DOM.pdf

and

Ray Tracing on a Stream Processor, Stanford University, March 2004

Paper funded by nVidia investigating raytracing on stream processors using pixel shaders and Cg.

 

[Xenus]

You just keep praying don't you.

 

[McFly]

You just keep praying don't you.

Good lord Sony, give us a 4PE PS3. Make realtime raytracing a good alternative to shader tricks and please lord, give us a whole gig of RAM. Amen.

Fredi

 

[nAo]

I found that patent a couple of weeks ago (Panajev knows that.. ) and I refused to link it here cause I didn't want to start another PS3/ray tracing discussion. LOL

 

[Titanio]

Plausibility? It's a couple of years old now..it may no longer be relevant, I guess.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Why's it not relevant? PS3's been a few years in development during which time they'd invent tech and patent it (or rather, not invent tech but patent it anyway... )

I must say, the idea of realtime raytracing AND GI is pretty fantastical

 

[Spidermate]

This was posted from Nirey, a respected and trusted poster from PSINEXT,

Hey sorry guys, i have not posted in so long since last time. But anyways i am sorry i couldn't say anything about this sweet deal until it was announced since i was under very tight NDA's. Anyways, now it's official, and i would like to say that this is a co-joint collaboration between sony in-house graphics technology and Nvidia technology. What this means is that this "custom-gpu" is a totally different architecture that is not based on an existing architecture from Nvidia.

More will come soon.

http://psinext.com/forums/viewtopic.php?p=84712#84712

Hmmm...curioser and curioser...REYES?...Raytracing?...GI?

Jaws, it goes A LOT deeper than that now. Some of it would probably blow your mind. But I'll keep my lips sealed .

 

[McFly]

Jaws, it goes A LOT deeper than that now.

Good god, Jaws heart just missed a beat reading that, be careful with such posts.

Fredi

 

[version]

"Demonstration written by Gabor Nagy, Sony Computer Entertainment America R+D"

ps3 with raytracing is TRUE

 

[one]

Gabor Nagy homepage
http://www.equinox3d.com/resume.html