Visual Appearance of Matte Surfaces

• Published in: Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) Vol. 267; no. 5201; pp. 1153 - 1156
• Main Authors: Nayar, Shree K., Oren, Michael
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Society for the Advancement of Science 24.02.1995; American Association for the Advancement of Science; The American Association for the Advancement of Science
• Subjects: Albedo; Applied sciences; Artificial intelligence; Biological and medical sciences; Computer Graphics; Computer science; control theory; systems; Computer vision; Edge and boundary effects; reflection and refraction; Exact sciences and technology; Eye and associated structures. Visual pathways and centers. Vision; Eyes & eyesight; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Fundamental areas of phenomenology (including applications); Humans; Innovations; Light; Machine vision; Mathematical Models; Mathematical surfaces; Mathematics; Modeling; Models, Biological; Observations; Optical reflection; Optics; Optics and Photonics; Pattern recognition. Digital image processing. Computational geometry; Physics; Plasters; Reflectance; Scientific Concepts; Sensors; Specular reflection; Surface areas; Surface Properties; Surfaces; Surfaces (Materials); Surfaces (Technology); Vertebrates: nervous system and sense organs; Videotape Recorders; Vision; Vision research; Visual Perception; Wave optics; Human; Computer vision; Vision; Computer graphics; Roughness; Rough surface; Matte; Reflectance; Visual perception; Surface
• ISSN: 0036-8075; 1095-9203
• DOI: 10.1126/science.7855592

All visual sensors, biological and artificial, are finite in resolution by necessity. As a result, the effective reflectance of surfaces in a scene varies with magnification. A reflectance model for matte surfaces is described that incorporates the effect of macroscopic surface undulations on image brightness. The model takes into account complex physical phenomena such as masking, shadowing, and interreflections between points on the surface, and it predicts the appearance of a wide range of natural surfaces. The implications of these results for human vision, machine vision, and computer graphics are demonstrated with both real and rendered images of three-dimensional objects. In particular, objects with extremely rough surfaces produce silhouette images devoid of shading, precluding visual perception of the object's shape.