Global Illumination

Global illumination (GI) research aims to realistically model the complex interplay of light and objects in a scene, accounting for indirect lighting effects beyond direct illumination from light sources. Current research focuses on efficient algorithms and neural network architectures, such as Gaussian splatting and neural radiance fields, to improve the accuracy and speed of GI rendering, often incorporating techniques like path tracing and differentiable rendering equations. These advancements are crucial for enhancing the realism of computer graphics, virtual and augmented reality applications, and improving the accuracy of inverse rendering tasks like 3D reconstruction from images.