An Analytical Model for Urban BRDF Based on Geometric Parameters of Urban 3D Scenes

Three-dimensional (3D) urban data opens up new possibilities and challenges for urban research. In this paper, we present an analytical model for urban bidirectional reflectance distribution function based on geometric parameters extracted from real-world 3D data. The analytical model relies on the simplified urban scenes, which have the same geometric parameters as real urban 3D scenes. The bidirectional reflectance factor of the 4 urban scenes in the two major cities of Beijing and Shanghai in China is simulated with the urban analytical model. The innovations of this paper are as follows: 1) a simple and efficient analytical model is developed, considering the complexity of urban structure and the optical properties of ground objects, and 2) the analytical model is backed up by real 3D data and can be applied in various forms of urban scenes.