ABSTRACT
This conclusion presents some closing thoughts on the concepts covered in the preceding chapters of this book. The book concludes that photorealistic rendering and global illumination algorithms have come a long way since the publication of the first recursive ray-tracing algorithm in 1979. There has been a gradual evolution from simple algorithms, some of them deemed to be hacks by today’s standards, to very advanced, fully physically based rendering algorithms. The Global illumination has not yet found its way to many mainstream applications, but some use has already been made in feature-animation films and to a limited extent in some computer games. High-quality rendering of architectural designs has become more common (although still unusual), and car manufacturers have become more aware of the possibilities of rendering cars in real virtual environments for glossy advertisements. The photorealistic rendering has certainly propelled forward the development of high-quality visualization techniques.
