Mental Image debuts iRay rendering technology

Mental Image has debuted its iRay rendering technology. According to industry veteran Michael Kaplan, the iRay platform allows life-like graphics to become “interactive” by exploiting the parallel processing power of Nvidia’s GPU.

Kaplan explained that iRay technology helps designers accurately simulate their creations using materials and lighting that relate directly to the physical world. In addition, iRay progressively refines an image until maximum detail is reached – providing a single process that smoothly combines interactive pre-visualization and final frame rendering.

To illustrate his presentation, Kaplan demonstrated the company’s RealityServer, which he described as a 3D web services (or cloud-based) application platform. Using just his laptop, Kaplan was able to lower and raise the blinds covering the windows of a remotely-based virtual office. Kaplan also changed the time from day to night, which instantly altered the light and shadow balance within the room.

iRay has already won praise from a number of individuals, including analyst Dr. Jon Peddie.  

“With iRay rendering technology, what used to take product designers, visual effects artists and CAD users hours to render can now happen in a matter of minutes without compromising the quality and detail of the image,” said Peddie. “The advent of iRay is changing the face of this industry by increasing the standards in rendering efficiency as we know it.”

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