A spring-loaded vertex model for automatic surface meshing

摘要

Mesh generation for finite element methods is discussed in the context of radiosity solutions to the rendering equation for global illumination. A spring-loaded vertex model is proposed. An initial rectangular surface mesh is regarded as collection of point masses inter-connected by zero-rest-length springs. The spring forces are dynamic and determined by the current best estimate of the finite element solution. The system seeks an equilibrium, which represents a high-quality approximate solution to the finite element problem in that the solution is accurate and yet uses few elements. Examples are provided showing hard lighting effects in simple radiosity-rendered scenes.