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Cook-Torrance Model

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Computer Vision

Synonyms

Cook-Torrance BRDF

Definition

Cook-Torrance model is an analytic BRDF model that describes the wavelength dependent reflectance property of a surface based on the principles of microfacet theory.

Background

Accurate descriptions of how light reflects off a surface are a fundamental prerequisite for computer vision and graphics applications. Real world materials exhibit characteristic surface reflectance, such as glossy or specular highlights, anisotropy, or off-specular reflection, which need to be modeled for such applications. The surface reflectance of a material is formalized by the notion of the Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function (BRDF) [1], which describes the reflected response of a surface in a certain exitant direction to illumination from a certain incident direction over a hemisphere of directions.

Analytical reflection models attempt to describe certain classes of BRDFs using a mathematical representation involving a small number of parameters. The...

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References

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute for Creative Technologies, University of Southern California, Playa Vista, CA, USA

    Abhijeet Ghosh

Authors
  1. Abhijeet Ghosh
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Industrial Science, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan

    Katsushi Ikeuchi

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© 2014 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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Ghosh, A. (2014). Cook-Torrance Model. In: Ikeuchi, K. (eds) Computer Vision. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-31439-6_531

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