3D Modeling Draws on AI

Graphics rendering has always revolved around a basic premise: faster performance equals a better experience. Of course, graphics processing units (GPUs) that render the complex three-dimensional (3D) images used in video games, augmented reality, and virtual reality can push visual performance only so far before reaching a hardware ceiling. All this has led researchers down the path of artificial intelligence--including the use of neural nets--to unlock speed and quality improvements in 3D graphics. In 2022, for example, Nvidia introduced DLSS 3 (Deep Learning Super Sampling), a neural graphics engine that boosts rendering speed by as much as 530%.a The technology uses machine learning to predict which pixels can be created on the fly using the GPU.