Ray-Tracing is one of the flagship features of the PS5. Only, this method of graphic improvement is still particularly resource-intensive. As evidenced by a patent filed by Sony, the manufacturer seeks to precisely reduce the needs of the RT.
Next-gen consoles, namely the Xbox Series X and PS5, both feature what’s called Ray-Tracing. You’ve probably heard of it, studios bragging when this technology is present in their game. realistic and more natural. Somehow, the RT physically simulates the behavior of light and is responsible for calculating its complex behavior, particularly concerning reflections and refraction or shadows.
Currently, many games offer a display mode with Ray-Tracing, such as Spider-Man Miles Morales, Demon’s Souls, Dying Light 2, Cyberpunk 2077, Gran Turismo 7 or Horizon: Forbidden West. Only, this technology is intended to be extremely resource-intensive, and for the moment players cannot enjoy RT without having a framerate stuck at around 30 FPS.
Ray-Tracing, one of Sony’s priorities with the PS5
Of course, there are some exceptions, such as Spider-Man: Miles Morales with its RT Performance mode, which offers 60 FPS rendering with lower quality Ray-Tracing. This is the price to pay to maintain a decent frame rate. However, as reported by our colleagues from the TechRadar site, Sony seems determined to drastically reduce the resource requirements of RT on PS5.
Indeed, the group has just published an article on its official website. Authored by Takafumi Morifuji, Principal Researcher at Sony Group Corporation, the paper highlights a brand new AI technology that relies on machine learning to increase the sharpness and clarity of low-resolution images.
According to the engineer, the super-resolution RT will allow “to extend the use of technology to games, movies and other areas of entertainment”. For the moment, this technology is mainly used in animation cinema. Another point which proves Sony’s strong interest in Ray-Tracing, the architect of the PS5 Mark Cerny filed a patent entitled “System and Method for accelerated ray-tracing” during the summer of 2020. The document mentions in particular a method for drastically reducing the number of rays emitted in a gamewhich would by extension reduce the need for hardware resources.
Source: TechRadar
