USE OF MANUFACTURERS' LUMINAIRE DATA IN LIGHT TRANSPORT SIMULATION PROGRAMS

Light transport simulation is widely used in industry and lighting research related areas. In order to illuminate simulated scenes, data from luminaire manufacturers can be used: IES (Illuminating Engineering Society) files have long been provided and are very popular among simulation users. Despite their popularity, some recent light transport programs do not support them natively. Another kind of data is made progressively available to practitioners: 3 D models of luminaires. The direct purpose of these models is visualisation but it is possible to imagine them as actual light sources illuminating the simulated scene. This paper is proposes and assesses methods introducing lighting distributions from manufacturers' luminaire data in lighting simulations. Firstly, practical ways to introduce IES light distributions in simulation programs not supporting them natively are proposed. Secondly, a method to produce lighting distributions from 3 D models of luminaires is assessed. Experiments are carried out for different kinds of luminaires, including intensive, extensive, and batwing luminaires.