This paper introduces a new scalable technique for approximating indirect illumination in fully dynamic scenes for real-time applications, such as video games. We use lattices and spherical harmonics to represent the spatial and angular distribution of light in the scene. Our technique does not require any precomputation and handles large scenes with nested lattices. It is primarily targeted at rendering single-bounce indirect illumination with occlusion, but can be extended to handle multiple bounces and participating media. We demonstrate that our method produces plausible results even when running on current game console hardware with a budget of only a few milliseconds for performing all computation steps for indirect lighting. We evaluate our technique and show it in combination with a variety of popular real-time rendering techniques.

Cascaded light propagation volumes for real-time indirect illumination.

One of the main goal in computer graphics is to generate an image that matches the user intent. To do that, the user has to go through several steps. The first step, named « Rendering engine », aims to precisely simulate light interactions with the objects of a 3D scene. At the end of this step, an image is generated. This image is represented by photometric values. Then, the user moves on to the second step, named « Post-production », where she/he applies several transformations to the computer generated images. To make the final image be in line with her/his expectations, the user can modify the 3D scene or change parameter values used throughout the different steps. Two main research avenues are investigated: acceleration of the generation of computer generated images and the development of user assistance tools allowing to satisfy the user's intent. First, we have developed computer graphics algorithms that generate high quality images. These techniques often rely on a stochastic process. They randomly construct light paths. However, in some particular setup, it turns out that these algorithms are inefficient. This is the case when rendering participating media for which a huge amount of light interactions is needed. These interactions entail a costly computing time. In order to reduce the rendering time, we have proposed a new discrete approach that runs on the GPU. However, there exist several limitations with this type of technique. To overcome these limitations, we have developed a second approach based on progressive photon mapping. Furthermore, in complex scenes, it is difficult to find valid light paths. This is why, our algorithm is based on Metropolis-Hasting. This type of technique allows to explore locally the path space but still have several drawbacks. The main drawback is that the algorithm does not distribute evenly the error over the image space. We have proposed a novel approach to address this issue. In the second part of this PhD, we are interested in the "post-production" step. A new technique has been developed to estimate the main illuminant in a scene. Knowing this main illuminant is crucial for color transformations. Moreover, we have developed a technique that optimizes automatically the lighting setup in a 3D scene to meet the user's expectations.

/pdf/toward-more-realism-and-robustness-in-global-illumination-4q2de7pc4d.pdf

Toward more realism and robustness in global illumination

We present a novel technique for physically based rendering of participating media like cloud, smoke, wax, marble, etc. We solve the radiative transfer equation (RTE) for participating media using the Modified Discrete Ordinate Method (MDOM), which computes the final solution as a combination of a direct and an indirect component. We propose a scalable GPU based parallel pipeline, for solving the RTE using the MDOM. This parallel RTE solver is capable of rendering intermediate results such as single scattering approximation. We overcome GPU memory size limitations by using low resolution radiance storage while doing high resolution radiance propagation. Furthermore, we achieve scalability by implementing an efficient volumetric data streaming mechanism. Our results demonstrate the ability of our method to render high quality multiple scattering effects.

Chaly Collins

Papers

Parallel MDOM for light transport in participating media