Abstract

In computer graphics, there are two types of applications: those where speed is essential and those where quality is indispensable. In the second case, research focuses on speeding various physically accurate models, while in the first case research aims to improve quality without sacrificing interactivity.

This talk will discuss techniques for adding specular effects (such as refraction and caustics) to interactive applications. While the refraction approximation is not physically based, it gives remarkably good results for a wide class of models. Furthermore, when rendering refractions from the light's viewpoint, storing locations instead of colors allows a hardware-assisted light gather to interactively render plausible caustics (the focusing of light from a reflector or refractor).