Abstract
Caribu is a modelling suite for lighting 3D virtual scenes, especially designed for the illumination of virtual plant canopies such as virtual crop fields. It uses a special algorithm, the nested radiosity (Chelle et al., 1998), that allows for a precise estimation of light absorption at the level of small canopy elements (typically 1 cm2). It takes into account multiple scattering, allows for infinitisation of the scene (by virtual replication) and performs in a reasonable time (typically a few minutes).The idea is to mix a projection model (Z-buffer) that solves the first order illumination, a model that solves the radiosity equations for the ligth exchanges between a canopy element and its close neighbourhood, and a model that solves turbid medium equations for the exchanges between a canopy element and the rest of the canopy.Ref: Michaël Chelle, Bruno Andrieu, K. Bouatouch. Nested radiosity for plant canopies. The Visual Computer, 1998, 14, pp.109-125. ⟨10.1007/s003710050127⟩. ⟨hal-02697207⟩