Utilization and efficient computation of polarization factor Q for fast, accurate BRDF modeling

Abstract

The Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function (BRDF) is of substantial use in remote sensing, scene generation, and computer graphics, to describe optical scatter off realistic surfaces. This paper begins by summarizing our prior work in relating wave optics and geometric optics models, culminating with the Modified Cook-Torrance (MCT) model. The MCT model is evaluated here against aluminum, Infragold, and silver paint at various wavelengths in the IR. In each case, the MCT model is shown to outperform a standard microfacet model. Then, this paper shows a non-trivial method of computing the primary new term, the polarization factor Q. This optimization requires manipulation of the polarization factor in the complex plane, and results in code that runs nearly 2 times faster when compared to the more straightforward implementation of Q. The code presented here is easily adapted to languages other than Matlab, as the code does not use complex variables and uses only cosines of relevant angles (which can trivially be computed by the dot product of unit vectors in scene rendering). It is anticipated that these results will lead to more widespread use of the polarization factor in scene rendering, to produce more accurate optical scatter results.