A simplified model for inhomogeneous subsurface scattering

Abstract

There has been considerable interest in modeling realistic subsurface light scattering in materials such as marble, human skin, or clouds. Many of these models provide a solution for the transport equation in a homogeneous or layered scattering media. The model we present here exploits a diffusion mechanism to provide a simpler solution to the transport equation. Treating light flux as current we can use circuit analysis techniques and linear systems to solve directly for the steady state transport equation and ignore the transient values. Thus our model can simulate light transport in heterogeneous materials and complex geometry.