Fabricating microgeometry for custom surface reflectance

Authors:
Open Access
Publisher website
Google Scholar
Abstract
We propose a system for manufacturing physical surfaces that, in aggregate, exhibit a desired surface appearance. Our system begins with a user specification of a BRDF, or simply a highlight shape, and infers the required distribution of surface slopes. We sample this distribution, optimize for a maximally-continuous and valley-minimizing height field, and finally mill the surface using a computer-controlled machine tool. We demonstrate a variety of surfaces, ranging from reproductions of measured BRDFs to materials with unconventional highlights.
Funding Information
  • Division of Computing and Communication Foundations (CCF-0347427CCF-0702580)