Discontinuity Meshing for Radiosity

The radiosity method is the most popular algorithm for simulating interreflection of light between diffuse surfaces. Most existing radiosity algorithms employ simple meshes and piecewise constant approximations, thereby constraining the radiosity function to be constant across each polygonal element. Much more accurate simulations are possible if linear, quadratic, or higher degree approximations are used. In order to realize the potential accuracy of higher-degree approximations, however, it is necessary for the radiosity mesh to resolve discontinuities such as shadow edges in the radiosity function. A discontinuity meshing algorithm is presented that places mesh boundaries directly along discontinuities. Such algorithms offer the potential of faster, more accurate simulations. Results are shown for three-dimensional scenes