Abstract
The quality of computer rendering and perception of realism greatly depend on the shading method used to implement the interaction of light with the surfaces of objects in a scene. Ambient occlusion (AO) enhances the realistic impression of rendered objects and scenes. Properties that make Screen Space Ambient Occlusion (SSAO) interesting for real-time graphics are scene complexity independence, and support for fully dynamic scenes. However, there are also important issues with current approaches: poor texture cache use, introduction of noise, and performance swings. In this paper, a straightforward solution is presented. Instead of a traditional, geometry-based sampling method, a novel, image-based sampling method is developed, coupled with a revised heuristic function for computing occlusion. Proposed algorithm harnessing GPU power improves texture cache use and reduces aliasing artifacts. Two implementations are developed, traditional and novel, and their comparison reveals improved performance and quality of the proposed algorithm.
Highlights
To simulate interaction of light with physical surfaces, all aspects of light behavior should be considered including aspects of geometrical, physical and quantum optics
This paper proposes a new approach to Screen Space Ambient Occlusion (SSAO)
From the presented chart we can notice that Image-based ambient occlusion (IBAO) is approximately twice as fast as SSAO
Summary
To simulate interaction of light with physical surfaces, all aspects of light behavior should be considered including aspects of geometrical, physical and quantum optics. Real-world surfaces are transparent or semi-transparent, and anisotropically reflective Including of all these aspects in one, single model that would simulate interaction of light with surfaces of objects for purposes of computer graphics is enormously demanding. Modern consumer GPUs offer impressive computational power which has allowed the use of various techniques and algorithms in real-time computer graphics that were previously possible in offline rendering only. One such technique is ambient occlusion, which approximates soft shadows due to indirect (ambient) lighting. It can be used as part of a larger global illumination solution, or as a stand-alone effect.
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