Modeling and Verifying the Polarizing Reflectance of Real-World Metallic Surfaces Kai Berger, Alexander Wilkie, Andrea Weidlich, Marcus Magnor

Kai Berger, Alexander Wilkie, Andrea Weidlich, and Marcus Magnor: "Modeling and Verifying the Polarizing Reflectance of Real-World Metallic Surfaces", Computer Graphics and Applications, vol. 32, no. 2, pp. 24–33, March 2012. [pdf] [bib] [IEEE CG&A]

Abstract

To generate convincingly rendered images of
surface reflection appearances, computer
graphics usually relies on bidirectional reflectance
distribution function (BRDF) models. One
such model is the Phong reflectance model (see
the “Related Work” sidebar). In believable rendering
applications, these intuitive models don’t have to
be physically accurate as long as
the resulting image satisfies the
viewer’s expectations. For example,
the traditional Phong model
is not energy conserving.
However, predictive rendering,
which we focus on here, relies on
BRDF models to make valid assumptions
of the surface’s physical
behavior to correctly describe
the light transport in complex
scenes. Two well-known examples
of physically plausible BRDF models
are the Fresnel reflectance and
Torrance-Sparrow models (see the
“Related Work” sidebar). They describe the surface
reflectance behavior down to its reflective polarization
properties.
To verify the accuracy of these physically based
models, we collected a set of metallic surfaces. Then,
we used an ellipsometer to measure the polarization
properties of their reflected light. Finally, we compared
the measurements to the reflectances we predicted
from the physically plausible BRDF models.

TU Braunschweig - Fakultät für Mathematik und Informatik - Computer Graphics - Publications - Modeling and Verifying the Polarizing Reflectance of Real-World Metallic Surfaces