Rendering 2024 - Symposium Track

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Does Higher Refractive Index Mean Higher Gloss?
(The Eurographics Association, 2024) Gigilashvili, Davit; Diaz Estrada, David Norman; Haines, Eric; Garces, Elena
According to Fresnel equations, the amount of specular reflection at the dielectric surface depends on two factors: incident angle and the difference in refractive indices of inner and outer media. Therefore, it is often assumed that the higher the refractive index of the material, the glossier it looks. However, gloss perception is a complex process that, in addition to specular reflectance, depends on many other factors, such as object's translucency and shape. In this study, we conducted two psychophysical experiments to quantify the impact of refractive index on perceived gloss for objects with varying degrees of translucency and surface roughness. For some objects a monotonic positive relationship between refractive index and perceived gloss was observed, while for others the relationship was found to be non-monotonic. Afterward, we evaluated how the refractive index affects image cues to gloss and tried to explain psychophysical results by image statistics.