A lightweight photon tracing method for visualising caustics

Abstract

In this paper we present a biased lightweight photon tracing method for the visualisation of caustics. The caustics volume bounds reflective and transmissive media and regulates the propagation of photons within these media. The volume uses partitioning and refinement to control tracing accuracy; this is modulated at runtime using a level-of-detail approach to improve performance without visible loss to accuracy. The system schedules traced photons for projections via a controllable number of face projectors tied to the volume. A straightforward splatting algorithm was implemented for this paper; however, more advanced splatting algorithms may be employed for improved visual quality.