OTOY partners with Autodesk to stream real-time path traced graphics from the cloud

Awesome news!!! In addition to the partnerships with Refractive Software (makers of Octane Render) and the development team behind the Brigade path tracer (which I blogged about here), OTOY now announced a partnership with Autodesk to integrate Octane Render into the viewport of Autodesk's 3D Studio Max 2012 and stream real-time path traced visuals for animations, movies and games from remote GPU clusters in the cloud to the client. Real-time GPU path tracing is big business, and the best part is that it's going to bring game graphics up to ultrarealistic levels in the not too distant future.

VentureBeat article (includes an image of Octane's subsurface scattering implementation): http://venturebeat.com/2011/10/20/otoy-teams-up-with-autodesk-to-create-cloud-rendering-platform/

Yahoo biz (Business Wire): http://finance.yahoo.com/news/OTOY-and-Autodesk-to-Create-bw-395764800.html?x=0&.v=1

Some quotes from the article and official press release:

Real Time Path Tracing in the Viewport - A New Level of Photorealism

OTOY's 3D rendering tools, including Octane Render™ and Brigade™, are the premier rendering solutions for next generation 'path traced' games and films.

Path tracing significantly reduces the cost and complexity of high quality rendering by automatically generating effects traditionally handled through manual post processing – including spectral rainbows, lens flares, unbiased motion blur and depth of field.

“A year ago, path tracing was considered too expensive to be used even in high-end Hollywood blockbusters. Today, thanks to advances in GPU rendering, OTOY is bringing real time path-tracing technology to millions of artists by leveraging GPU hardware that costs only a few hundred dollars. This is a game-changer on any budget,” said Jules Urbach, CEO of OTOY.

“Autodesk is the leader in 3D design software for film and video game production. We are incredibly excited about our partnership and proud to be bringing their industry leading tools to an ever-expanding market through our cloud solutions,” said Alissa Grainger, President of OTOY.

One of the images in the VentureBeat article looks like the Kajiya scene (which can now be rendered at more than 10 fps with the Brigade engine, including caustics) in an IBL environment:

Very cool!