Microsoft announces updates to DirectX API, paving the way for neural rendering. Neural rendering is a concept of rendering parts of a frame in real-time 3D graphics using a generative artificial intelligence model that works in conjunction with traditional raster 3D graphics pipelines as well as other advanced technologies such as real-time ray tracing.
This is different from artificial intelligence-based super-resolution technology. Generative AI here is involved in rendering the input frames of the super-resolution technology. One of the keys to neural rendering is the cooperation vector, which creates a channel of information between the traditional graphics pipeline and generative AI, telling it what it is doing, what the AI model needs to do, and what the ground truth for the model is.
Microsoft said its HLSL team is working with AMD, Intel, Nvidia and Qualcomm to provide cross-vendor support for cooperative vectors in the DirectX ecosystem. The upcoming NVIDIA GeForce RTX 50 series "Blackwell" GPUs will use cooperative vectors to drive neural shading and will be the first results of this work.
"Neural shaders provide tools for visualizing game assets with AI, better organizing geometry to improve path tracing performance, and creating game characters with photo-realistic visuals," Microsoft said.
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