The focus of this NVIDIA tutorial and the provided code is to showcase a basic integration of ray tracing within an existing Vulkan sample, using the VK_NV_ray_tracing extension. Note that for educational purposes all the code is contained in a very small set of files. A real integration would require additional levels of abstraction.

NVIDIA VKRay is a set of three extensions that bring ray tracing functionality to the Vulkan. VK_NV_ray_tracing is the stable registered extension for adding ray tracing effects to Vulkan raster applications. Callable shaders provide applications with the means to reuse shading code across many different objects. The new stable extension includes API updates for cleaner code and flexible memory management. Learn more in the NVIDIA Developers News center.

In the latest version of the Nsight Graphics debugger tool, the Pixel History feature now supports the Vulkan API. Pixel History is key to understanding how a particular pixel changed throughout the creation of a frame. This feature gives you the ability to inspect the pixel’s color at each revision, how many samples passed or failed, the failure reason if it failed, and the associated event. You can find out more information about Pixel History in this Pixel History Spotlight!

Also, we have added support for another Vulkan Extension to the list: Vulkan Meshlets (VK_NV_mesh_shader)! You can now profile, debug, and create a C++ Capture of Vulkan applications that utilize mesh shaders and meshlets. A full list of supported Vulkan Extensions can be found in our documentation.

NVIDIA’s new Turing GPU unleashed real-time ray-tracing in a consumer GPU for the first time. Since then, much virtual ink has been spilled discussing ray tracing in DirectX 12. However, many developers want to embrace a more open approach using Vulkan, the low-level API supported by the Khronos Group. Vulkan enables developers to target many different platforms, including Windows and Linux, allowing for broader distribution of 3D-accelerated applications. NVIDIA’s 411.63 driver release now enables an experimental Vulkan extension that exposes NVIDIA’s RTX technology for real-time ray tracing through the Vulkan API. Head over to the NVIDIA blog to read all about this update.

NVIDIA announced Nsight Graphics 2018.4, the first public release of GPU Trace. This release also adds D3D12 Pixel history, supports NVIDIA’s Vulkan ray tracing extension, completes support for the D3D12 RS3 SDK, and improves performance for D3D11 and Vulkan debugging and profiling. Additionally, with this release, the Nsight family of tools is being re-versioned to a year dot release number versioning scheme.

Two new IPhone Apps show the power of OpenGL ES 2.0 shaders on the PowerVR SGX graphics chip in the new IPhone 3GS. Quaternion Julia Raytracer is the first real-time GPU raytracer for the IPhone 3GS. It renders the quaternion Julia fractal with high accuracy. By modifying the fractal parameters, an unlimited number of complex shapes can be generated. iGPUTrace creates fully interactive photorealistic images of shiny spheres in photographed environments. The compass and accelerometer controls the camera movement in 3D space.