State of the art in Monte Carlo global illumination

Realistic image synthesis is increasingly important in areas such as entertainment (movies, special effects and games), design, architecture and more. A common trend in all these areas is the quest for more realistic images of increasingly complex models. Monte Carlo global illumination algorithms are the only methods that can handle this complexity. Recent advances in algorithms and compute power has made Monte Carlo algorithms very practical and a natural choice for most problems.The purpose of this course is to impart upon the attendees a thorough understanding of the principles of Monte Carlo path tracing methods, as well as a detailed overview of the most recently developed methods.Part 1 will cover the fundamentals of realistic image synthesis (radiometry, rendering equation). Part 2 focuses on the mathematical tools needed to compute integrals using Monte Carlo sampling. Parts 3 and 4 cover specific algorithms that have proven very useful in global illumination rendering.