The Program of Computer Graphics is best known for pioneering work on realistic image synthesis, including the radiosity method for calculating direct and indirect illumination in synthetic scenes. Our long-term goal is to develop physically-based lighting models and perceptually based rendering procedures to produce images that are visually and measurably indistinguishable from real-world images.

Over the past two years, we have articulated and refined a framework for global illumination research. The framework incorporates light reflection models, energy transport simulation, and visual display algorithms.

Using our sophisticated light measurement laboratory, we have derived an accurate, physically-based local light reflection model for arbitrary reflectance functions. The ability to measure physical environments radiometrically greatly improves our capacity to conduct controlled experiments and to compare simulations with real-world environments.

The second part of our research framework involves simulation of the physical propagation of light energy. We simulate the flow of light between surfaces using Monte Carlo particle tracing, without explicitly reconstructing the lighting on them. Although computational requirements are enormous, both the particle-tracing and density-estimation phases can easily exploit coarse-grained parallelism, thus reducing computation time.

The last stage of image synthesis incorporates human perceptual factors to generate a visual image. Using a visual model to determine the visual mapping from simulated scene radiances to display device radiances, we can produce images predictive of what observers in the simulated scene would see. The techniques will provide a feedback loop to improve the efficiency of computations.

Our graphics research also involves three-dimensional modeling of very complex environments. Additional application research is being conducted in volume rendering, medical imaging, generic tools for scientific visualization, input software for preliminary architecture design, digital photography, and core technologies for multimedia environments.

Most of the research is conducted within the the Program of Computer Graphics, a member of the NSF Science and Technology Center for Computer Graphics and Scientific Visualization. Other members are Brown, Cal Tech, North Carolina (Chapel Hill), and Utah.

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