Geometry-Based Optimization of Light Probe Placement in Virtual Environments

In order to achieve realistic lighting in augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and other virtual environments with stringent real-time requirements, environmental lighting is captured and stored in light probes that are strategically positioned throughout these environments. This study investigates the optimal positioning of light probes based on the environment to achieve realistic virtual representations. A novel spatial geometry-based approach for light probe placement is introduced, validated in a comparative analyses against three alternative methods across diverse virtual environments, each utilizing different probe quantities. The investigation reveals that strategic deployment of a minimal number of probes can effectively simulate realistic illumination across complex environmental scenarios. The geometry-based optimization outperforms alternative methods by achieving efficient real-time probe placement with minimal number of probes. This optimized methodology can be directly implemented at runtime in various applications, including AR, VR, game development, and virtual productions, thereby enhancing lighting realism while optimizing computational resources.