在本次演講中，NVIDIA的Eric Haines講述了光線和路徑追蹤的基礎知識。首先，他定義了光線并指出了光線對計算機圖形學中的不同操作有何用處。例如，可以投射光線以測試陰影。 早在1980年，Whitted就引入了遞歸光線投射的概念，即光線追蹤。隨后， Cook和其他人于1984年探索了光線的迸發如何產生更加精細的效果，例如柔和的陰影和光澤的反射。 接下來，Kajiya于1986年引入了光線渲染方程，展示了如何使用路徑跟蹤來解決光線渲染的問題。光線追蹤的整個領域都旨在使用這項極其簡單而原始的事物--光線，并探索如何最有效地使用它來創建無與倫比的真實感的圖像
In this talk NVIDIA’s Eric Haines runs through the basics of ray and path tracing. To begin, he defines a ray and notes how it is useful for different operations in computer graphics. Rays can be cast to test for shadows, for example. In 1980, Whitted introduced the idea of recursive ray casting, known as ray tracing. Cook and others in 1984 explored how bursts of rays could create more elaborate effects, such as soft shadows and glossy reflections. Kajiya introduced the Rendering Equation in 1986, showing how it could be solved using path tracing. This whole field of ray tracing takes an extremely simple primitive - the ray - and explores how to most effectively use it to create images of unparalleled realism.