Abstract: Examples of time-of-flight (“TOF”) simulation of multipath light phenomena are described. For example, in addition to recording light intensity for a pixel during rendering, a graphics tool records the lengths (or times) and segment counts for light paths arriving at the pixel. Such multipath information can provide a characterization of the temporal light density of light that arrives at the pixel in response to one or more pulses of light. The graphics tool can use stratification and/or priority sampling to reduce variance in recorded light path samples. Realistic, physically-accurate simulation of multipath light phenomena can, in turn, help calibrate a TOF camera so that it more accurately estimates the depths of real world objects observed using the TOF camera. Various ways to improve the process of inferring imaging conditions such as depth, reflectivity, and ambient light based on images captured using a TOF camera are also described.

Abstract: Examples of time-of-flight (“TOF”) simulation of multipath light phenomena are described. For example, in addition to recording light intensity for a pixel during rendering, a graphics tool records the lengths (or times) and segment counts for light paths arriving at the pixel. Such multipath information can provide a characterization of the temporal light density of light that arrives at the pixel in response to one or more pulses of light. The graphics tool can use stratification and/or priority sampling to reduce variance in recorded light path samples. Realistic, physically-accurate simulation of multipath light phenomena can, in turn, help calibrate a TOF camera so that it more accurately estimates the depths of real world objects observed using the TOF camera. Various ways to improve the process of inferring imaging conditions such as depth, reflectivity, and ambient light based on images captured using a TOF camera are also described.