IP Library › Granted Patent US 12,626,448
Granted Patent B2
US 12,626,448 · App. 18/539,852 · Granted May 12, 2026

Discrete rotations for oriented bounding boxes based on platonic solids

Inventors: Michael Alexander Kern (Munich, DE); Matthäus G. Chajdas (Munich, DE); Daniel James Skinner (Milton Keynes, GB)
Assignee: Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.
G06T15/06G06T19/20G06T2210/12G06T2210/21G06T2219/2016
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,626,448
App. No.
18/539,852
Granted
May 12, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

A technique for performing ray tracing operations is provided. The technique includes arriving at a bounding box of a bounding volume hierarchy (“BVH”) having an orientation defined based on a platonic solid; testing a ray for intersection with the bounding box; and continuing traversal of the BVH based on results of the testing.

Claims (29)

1 . A system for performing ray tracing operations, the system comprising:

a memory configured to store data for a bounding volume hierarchy (“BVH”); and

a processor configured to:

arrive at a bounding box of the BVH, the bounding box having an orientation that is not axis aligned and that is defined based on a platonic solid, wherein the orientation is selected based on a vector extending from a center of the platonic solid to a face, a child face, a vertex, an edge midpoint, or a face midpoint of the platonic solid;

test a ray for intersection with the bounding box; and

continue traversal of the BVH based on results of the testing.

2 . The system of claim 1 , wherein each oriented bounding box of the BVH has an orientation that is based on a quantization space.

3 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the orientation includes a plurality of directions, each of which is within a quantization space.

4 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the orientation includes a first direction within a quantization space and two directions that are perpendicular to the first direction.

5 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to build the BVH by selecting orientations based on a quantization space for each oriented bounding box of the BVH.

6 . The system of claim 1 , wherein the platonic solid includes one of a regular tetrahedron, a cube, a regular octahedron, a regular dodecahedron, or a regular icosahedron.

7 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:

arriving at a bounding box of a bounding volume hierarchy (“BVH”), the bounding box having an orientation that is not axis aligned and that is defined based on a platonic solid, wherein the orientation is selected based on a vector extending from a center of the platonic solid to a face, a child face, a vertex, an edge midpoint, or a face midpoint of the platonic solid;

testing a ray for intersection with the bounding box; and

continuing traversal of the BVH based on results of the testing.

8 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 7 , wherein each oriented bounding box of the BVH has an orientation that is based on a quantization space.

9 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 7 , wherein the orientation includes a plurality of directions, each of which is within a quantization space.

10 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 7 , wherein the orientation includes a first direction within a quantization space and two directions that are perpendicular to the first direction.

11 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 7 , wherein the operations further comprise building the BVH by selecting orientations based on a quantization space for each oriented bounding box of the BVH.

12 . The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 7 , wherein the platonic solid includes one of a regular tetrahedron, a regular octahedron, a regular dodecahedron, or a regular icosahedron.

13 . A method for performing ray tracing operations, the method comprising:

arriving at a bounding box of a bounding volume hierarchy (“BVH”), the bounding box having an orientation that is not axis aligned and that is defined based on a platonic solid, wherein the orientation is selected based on a vector extending from a center of the platonic solid to a face, a child face, a vertex, an edge midpoint, or a face midpoint of the platonic solid;

testing a ray for intersection with the bounding box; and

continuing traversal of the BVH based on results of the testing.

14 . The method of claim 1 , wherein each oriented bounding box of the BVH has an orientation that is based on a quantization space.

15 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the orientation includes a plurality of directions, each of which is within a quantization space.

16 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the orientation includes a first direction within a quantization space and two directions that are perpendicular to the first direction.

17 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising building the BVH by selecting orientations based on a quantization space for each oriented bounding box of the BVH.

18 . The method of claim 13 , wherein the platonic solid includes one of a regular tetrahedron, a cube, a regular octahedron, a regular dodecahedron, or a regular icosahedron.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Feb 15, 2024
From: KERN, MICHAEL ALEXANDER; CHAJDAS, MATTHÄUS G.; SKINNER, DANIEL JAMES
To: ADVANCED MICRO DEVICES, INC.
Reel/Frame 066469/0125 →
Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20250200864A1 · Jun 19, 2025
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