Inverse lighting design for interior buildings integrating natural and artificial sources

In this paper we propose a new method for solving inverse lighting design problems that can include diverse sources such as diffuse roof skylights or artificial light sources. Given a user specification of illumination requirements, our approach provides optimal light source positions as well as optimal shapes for skylight installations in interior architectural models. The well known huge computational effort that involves searching for an optimal solution is tackled by combining two concepts: exploiting the scene coherence to compute global illumination and using a metaheuristic technique for optimization.Results and analysis show that our method provides both fast and accurate results, making it suitable for lighting design in indoor environments while supporting interactive visualization of global illumination.

Graphical abstractConvergence of radiosity values to the desired lighting intention.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload high-quality image (77 K)Download as PowerPoint slideHighlights► We provide a fast method for inverse lighting that allows to shortening design times. ► The system is intended for flexible lighting design using a global illumination approach. ► Light sources can be specified at any place in the environment. ► We developed a method that integrates artificial light sources with skylight sources.