Method for computing the intensity of specularly reflected light

1. A method for computing the intensity of specularly reflected light, comprising the steps of:

representing the intensity of light reflected specularly from an object illuminated by a plurality of light sources by an algebraic expression, wherein the algebraic expression is S i (n,h i ,n)=1−n+max{n·(nh i ), n−1}, which describes the intensity of light reflected from a point on the object as measured by an observer, the object illuminated by light from an i th light source, where n is a unit vector normal to the object at the point of reflection, h i is a unit vector bisecting an angle subtended by a unit vector pointing towards the i th light source from the point of reflection and a unit vector pointing towards the observer from the point of reflection, and n is a parameter that describes the shininess of the object;

incorporating the algebraic expression into an illumination model for the illumination of the object, the model having at least specular illumination terms and diffuse illumination terms; and

expressing the specular illumination terms of the illumination model in the same functional form as other terms of the illumination model, wherein the specular illumination terms and the diffuse illumination terms are evaluated substantially in parallel.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the algebraic expression does not include division or exponentiation operators.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of light sources includes extended light sources and point light sources.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the illumination model describes the color and intensity of light reflected from the object illuminated by the i th light source, the reflected light including specular, diffuse, and ambient components.

5. The method of claim 4 , wherein the other terms of the illumination model further comprise ambient terms.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the specular illumination terms of the illumination model are expressed in the same functional form as the diffuse illumination terms of the illumination model.

7. A method for computing the intensity of specularly reflected light, comprising the steps of:

representing the intensity of light reflected specularly from an object illuminated by a plurality of light sources by an algebraic expression, wherein the algebraic expression is SM i,k (n,h i ,n)=(1−n/k+max{n·(n/k h i ), n/k−1}) k , which describes the intensity of light reflected from a point on the object as measured by an observer, the object illuminated by light from an i th light source, where n is a unit vector normal to the object at the point of reflection, h i is a unit vector bisecting an angle subtended by a unit vector pointing towards the i th light source from the point of reflection and a unit vector pointing towards the observer from the point of reflection, n is a parameter that describes the shininess of the object, and k is a parameter that determines which derivatives of the algebraic expression are continuous;

incorporating the algebraic expression into an illumination model for the illumination of the object, the model having at least specular illumination terms and diffuse illumination terms; and

expressing the specular illumination terms of the illumination model in the same functional form as other terms of the illumination model, wherein the specular illumination terms and the diffuse illumination terms are evaluated substantially in parallel.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein 2≦k≦n.

9. A computer-readable medium comprising instructions for computing the intensity of specularly reflected light by performing the steps of:

representing the intensity of light reflected specularly from an object illuminated by a plurality of light sources by an algebraic expression, wherein the algebraic expression is S i (n,h i ,n)=1−n+max{n·(nh i ), n−1}, which describes the intensity of light reflected from a point on the object as measured by an observer, the object illuminated by light from an i th light source, where n is a unit vector normal to the object at the point of reflection, h i is a unit vector bisecting an angle subtended by a unit vector pointing towards the i th light source from the point of reflection and a unit vector pointing towards the observer from the point of reflection, and n is a parameter that describes the shininess of the object;

incorporating the algebraic expression into an illumination model for the illumination of the object, the model having at least specular illumination terms and diffuse illumination terms; and

expressing the specular illumination terms of the illumination model in the same functional form as other terms of the illumination model, wherein the specular illumination terms and a diffuse terms are evaluated substantially in parallel.

10. The computer-readable medium of claim 9 , wherein the algebraic expression does not include division or exponentiation operators.

11. The computer-readable medium of claim 9 , wherein the plurality of light sources includes extended light sources and point light sources.

12. The computer-readable medium of claim 9 , wherein the illumination model describes the color and intensity of light reflected from the object illuminated by the i th light source, the reflected light including specular, diffuse, and ambient components.

13. The computer-readable medium of claim 12 , wherein the other terms of the illumination model further comprise ambient terms.

14. The computer-readable medium of claim 9 , wherein the specular illumination terms of the illumination model are expressed in the same functional form as the diffuse illumination terms of the illumination model.

15. A computer-readable medium comprising instructions for computing the intensity of specularly reflected light by performing the steps of:

representing the intensity of light reflected specularly from an object illuminated by a plurality of light sources by an algebraic expression, wherein the algebraic expression is SM i,k (n,h i ,n)=(1−n/k+max{n·(n/k h i ), n/k−1}) k , which describes the intensity of light reflected from a point on the object as measured by an observer, the object illuminated by light from an i th light source, where n is a unit vector normal to the object at the point of reflection, h i is a unit vector bisecting an angle subtended by a unit vector pointing towards the i th light source from the point of reflection and a unit vector pointing towards the observer from the point of reflection, n is a parameter that describes the shininess of the object, and k is a parameter that determines which derivatives of the algebraic expression are continuous;

incorporating the algebraic expression into an illumination model for the illumination of the object, the model having at least specular illumination terms and diffuse illumination terms; and

expressing the specular illumination terms of the illumination model in the same functional form as other terms of the illumination model, wherein the specular illumination terms and a diffuse terms are evaluated substantially in parallel.

16. The computer-readable medium of claim 15 , wherein 2≦k≦n.

17. An electronic entertainment system for computing the illumination of an object by a plurality of light sources, comprising:

a memory configured to store game instructions and an illumination model;

a processor configured to execute game instructions and generate rendering instructions;

a vector processor configured to calculate color vectors using the illumination model, the illumination model having specular illumination terms and diffuse illumination terms expressed in the same functional form, wherein the vector processor evaluates vector dot products for the diffuse and specular illumination terms substantially in parallel; and

a graphics processor configured to render the illuminated object in an image using the color vectors according to the rendering instructions,

wherein for each light source i, an algebraic expression representing the intensity of light reflected specularly from a point on the object and detected by an observer is substituted into the illumination model yielding a specular illumination term for the light source i, wherein the algebraic expression for light source i is S i (n,h i ,n)=1−n+max{n·(nh i ), n−1}, where n is a unit vector normal to the object at the point of reflection, h i is a unit vector bisecting an angle subtended by a unit vector pointing towards light source i from the point of reflection and a unit vector pointing towards the observer from the point of reflection and n is a parameter that describes the shininess of the object.

18. The electronic entertainment system of claim 17 , wherein the algebraic expression does not contain division or exponentiation operators.

19. An electronic entertainment system for computing the illumination of an object by a plurality of light sources, comprising:

a memory configured to store game instructions and an illumination model;

a processor configured to execute game instructions and generate rendering instructions;

a vector processor configured to calculate color vectors using the illumination model, the illumination model having specular illumination terms and diffuse illumination terms expressed in the same functional form, wherein the vector processor evaluates vector dot products for the diffuse and specular illumination terms substantially in parallel; and

a graphics processor configured to render the illuminated object in an image using the color vectors according to the rendering instructions,

wherein for each light source i, an algebraic expression representing the intensity of light reflected specularly from a point on the object and detected by an observer is substituted into the illumination model yielding a specular illumination term for the light source i, wherein the algebraic expression for light source i is SM i,k (n,h i ,n)=(1−n/k+max{n·(n/k h i ), n/k−1}) k , where k is a parameter that determines which derivatives of the algebraic expression are continuous, n is a unit vector normal to the object at the point of reflection, h i is a unit vector bisecting an angle subtended by a unit vector pointing towards light source i from the point of reflection and a unit vector pointing towards the observer from the point of reflection, and n is a parameter that describes the shininess of the object.

20. The electronic entertainment system of claim 19 , wherein 2≦k≦n.