Fast incident light field acquisition and rendering

Abstract

We present a practical and inexpensive approach for the acquisition and rendering of static incident light fields. Incident light fields can be used for lighting virtual scenes or to insert virtual objects into real world video footage. The virtual objects are correctly lit and cast shadows in the same way as real objects in the scene. We propose to use an inexpensive planar mirror and a high dynamic range video camera to record incident light fields quickly, making our method suitable for outdoor use. The mirror serves as a moving virtual camera sampling the light field. To render with the acquired data we propose a hardware accelerated rendering algorithm that reproduces the complex lighting and shadows of the 4D light field. The algorithm is scalable and allows continuous trade between quality and rendering speed.