Radiosity and Relaxation Methods: Progressive Refinement is Southwell Relaxation

Abstract:

The radiosity method for realistic image synthesis has been described in the
computer graphics literature since 1984. This paper discusses the various
algorithms which have been developed for solving the radiosity problem and
places them in the context of the literature on solving systems of linear
equations. The progressive radiosity method developed in 1988 is shown to be
equivalent to a numerical technique known as Southwell iteration. A proof of
convergence for this method when used for the radiosity problem is presented
in the appendix. A new overshooting (similar to over relaxation) method is
developed as a means of accelerating the convergence of the iterative
radiosity methods.