A path space extension for robust light transport simulation

Abstract

We present a new sampling space for light transport paths that makes it possible to describe Monte Carlo path integration and photon density estimation in the same framework. A key contribution of our paper is the introduction of vertex perturbations, which extends the space of paths with loosely coupled connections. The new framework enables the computation of path probabilities in the same space under the same measure, which allows us to use multiple importance sampling to combine Monte Carlo path integration and photon density estimation. The resulting algorithm,unified path sampling, can robustly render complex combinations and glossy surfaces and caustics that are problematic for existing light transport simulation methods.