It's not so long ago that you had to resort to 'render farms' to turn your 3D models and animations into lifelike images. There was a step change up from that time-consuming process when computers with more powerful or multithreaded CPUs became available, and you merely had to pop off for lunch when you got to the rendering stage. Graphics cards have advanced considerably, and it became obvious that NVIDIA had product and technology goals which they saw they could achieve through a specific avenue of hardware/software development. They executed successfully on that strategy - and updated their capabilities dramatically.

With more powerful GPUs and increased frame buffer sizes, NVIDIA claims that they can now be used to accelerate the rendering process by up to 6 or 15 times compared to what is achievable using the fastest CPUs. A graphics workstation's CPU features a small quantity of highly complex cores, compared to the hundreds or thousands of smaller and simpler cores on a typical GPU. Simple cores prove ideal for handling the rendering of masses of small polygons that you get in a 3D model.

It is the cores in a GPU that handle the computations, and the RAM frame buffer stores pixel data so that it can be fed to a video display. VRAM stores textures and other data that are to be used in the rendering.

Groundbreaking AI technology is also used by NVIDIA to increase other elements of its graphics performance. Its DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling) technology uses dedicated Tensor Cores on its GeForce RTX GPUs to leverage its deep learning neural network, boost frame rates and generate beautiful, sharp images in a render. Together with the RT cores ray tracing capabilities leveraging deeper tracking of individual light paths, it can simulate ultra-high resolutions and produce images comparable to native resolution even though it might only render a fraction of the pixels.

The deep learning-based upscaling technology actually renders internally at a lower resolution but is able to output cleaner and sharper high-resolution images for videos and high-performance virtual reality walkthroughs.

In the gaming industry, DLSS allows users to choose one of several quality modes, from Quality Performance with 4 x AI super resolution (i.e. 1080p render resolution) or Ultra-performance levels at 9 x AI super resolution (1440p or 8K resolution). Whille Enscape's rendering modes are not dependent on DLSS it may be implemented in future releases.

ENSCAPE
Enscape, a leading provider of 3D visualisations and virtual reality technology for architects and designers, recently released Enscape 3.1, stating that, amongst other enhancements, it will be leveraging NVIDIA's DLSS technology with the new release supporting the company's RTX Graphics cards. This will enable Enscape to provide the ultimate in real-time rendering technology with lower GPU requirements, giving clients the tools to create more realistic experiences during walkthroughs and exports. Using the technology in Enscape's video rendering capabilities will mean that the reduced GPU requirements are sped up, the quality improved and visual distortions removed.

The images on the opposite page show the effect of raytraced sun shadows using Enscape with and without using DLSS, and also highlight the DLSS performance enhancements at 4K and 8K resolutions and the improvements that running at 60 frames per second delivers.

AI IN THE AEC INDUSTRY
We are all perhaps guilty of mentioning AI technology in any discussion pertaining to the construction industry lately. It's a technology, though, that can be used to enhance visualisations and innovative rendering techniques, and it is enabling rendering software developers like Enscape to both improve their photorealistic rendering capabilities and make the software easier to use.

Enscape has developed a closer relationship with NVIDIA since becoming one of the first rendering engines to support NVIDIA RTX back in 2019. This enabled Enscape to deliver real-time raytracing to architects and designers. The first-generation RT Cores in RTX-powered workstations provided real enhancements to the speed, accuracy and realism of their 3D models and animations. With accurate raytracing and massively accelerated speed from RTX, project teams and clients were able to interact more immediately with their creations, which led to improved decision-making. Archviz specialists were also given time to iterate, or experiment, more during the creation of compelling renders for competitions and bid submissions.

DLSS support in Enscape 3.1 will also give architects and designers using NVIDIA RTX-powered workstations improved real-time performances during walkthroughs, but with decreased video rendering times and increased image quality, and, importantly, higher quality virtual reality experiences with the latest generation of high-resolution VR headsets.

MATERIALS AND PANORAMAS
We mentioned Enscape's other enhancements in its 3.1 Release. These include the introduction of a high-quality Material Library, and a new Panorama Gallery. Using the new Material Library, designers can choose from over 200 predefined high-quality materials, such as wood, fabric, brick, and tile, which can be imported into the Enscape Material Editor, where material characteristics can be edited to provide the exact look and feel desired for projects. Improving the render quality in a scene is therefore easy and quick, reducing time spent in searching for particular high-end rendering materials.

The Materials Library is accompanied by an Asset Library which provides access to the latest design trends, and Enscape continually adds new materials and assets with every software release to ensure designers have access to the ultimate in trends, textures and materials.

Creating realistic proposals for clients to help them better understand their space has never been easier, either. With the new Panorama Gallery, it is easy to share and group multiple 360 panorama images together using a web browser to create a personalised experience when presenting designs. Clients can navigate their way around a project from a web link or even a QR code and visualise multiple rooms or compare different design options.

The partnership between render engine developers and graphics card manufacturers is leading designers into a new, proactive environment which can only benefit their customers.

"Architects and designers globally are looking for ways to quickly and easily visualise their designs and bring them closer to reality. Enscape is partnering with innovative organisations to address this challenge," said Christian Lang, CEO at Enscape. "We're proud to be working with NVIDIA to provide our architecture and design customers around the world access to high-quality real-time rendering and visualisation technology."

His comments were reflected by Andrew Rink, head of AEC Marketing Strategy at NVIDIA. "NVIDIA DLSS is a great example of artificial intelligence delivering practical benefits to improve industry workflows and AEC customers using NVIDIA RTX GPUs will be delighted at the innovative way Enscape has integrated our technology to enhance their powerful rendering software."

Enscape's real-time 3D rendering and virtual reality solution is available with the foremost CAD AEC applications, placing its visual exploration capabilities directly within numerous modeling tools, including Autodesk Revit, SketchUp, Rhinoceros, ArchiCAD, and Vectorworks, providing an integrated visualisation and design workflow.

www.Enscape3D.com