Spatiotemporal sensitivity and visual attention for efficient rendering of dynamic environments

We present a method to accelerate global illumination computation in prerendered animations by taking advantage of limitations of the human visual system. A spatiotemporal error tolerance map, constructed from psychophysical data based on velocity dependent contrast sensitivity, is used to accelerate rendering. The error map is augmented by a model of visual attention in order to account for the tracking behavior of the eye. Perceptual acceleration combined with good sampling protocols provide a global illumination solution feasible for use in animation. Results indicate an order of magnitude improvement in computational speed.