Ray tracing was first deployed in applications where taking a relatively long time to render could be tolerated, such as still CGI images, and film and television visual effects (VFX), but was less suited to real-time applications such as video games, where speed is critical in rendering each frame. (Wikipedia)
Ray Generation: For each pixel, calculate the ray direction from the camera through the viewport.
Intersection Tests: For each ray, test for intersections with scene objects (e.g., spheres, planes).
Shading: Calculate the color of the intersected point based on material properties, light sources, and shadow occlusion.
Reflection & Refraction: If the material is reflective or transparent, trace additional rays to simulate reflections or refractions.
Image Output: Save the computed color values for each pixel to an image file.
Multiple Object Types: Extend support for additional shapes like cubes, cylinders, etc.
Advanced Lighting Models: Add support for more complex lighting models, including area lights and global illumination.
Anti-Aliasing: Implement anti-aliasing techniques to smooth edges.
Acceleration structures: Improve performance with spatial partitioning structures like BVH.
Rust (version >= 1.56.0)
Clone this repository:
git clone https://github.com/divinrkz/ray-tracer.git
cd ray-tracerCompile and run the application:
cargo run
The program will output rendered images to the /output directory.
Contributions are welcome! Please submit a pull request with your changes, and ensure your code follows Rust's standard coding practices.
This project was part of a project in a Rust class at Caltech by Professor Michael Vanier.