PathTracer in CUDA

Context

I made this project in my spare time in order to improve my knowledge in Computer Graphics by learning the mathematical and algorithmic bases behind the so-called offline photorealistic rendering techniques.

I first started by reading the book Ray Tracing in One Weekend to implement my first pathtracer. Then I decided to reimplement the same pathtracer, but this time using CUDA technology to speed up its computation time. To this end, I followed Roger Allen’s blog post, Accelerated Ray Tracing in One Weekend in CUDA.

I then continued my pathtracing journey by reading the second book Raytracing The Next Week but implementing the code in CUDA.

Showcase

Here are some renders I was able to create using CUDA

What did I learn ?

• The algorithms and math behind a path tracer
• Using CUDA
  • Using device code
  • Using kernels
  • Transfering CPU memory to GPU
• Creating a Bouding Volume Hierarchy
• Performing lighting calculations based on material properties