We propose an e cient algorithm to embed a given image into the latent space of StyleGAN. This embedding enables semantic image editing operations that can be applied to existing photographs. Taking the StyleGAN trained on the FFHQ dataset as an example, we show results for image morphing, style transfer, and expression transfer. Studying the results of the embedding algorithm provides valuable insights into the structure of the StyleGAN latent space. We propose a set of experiments to test what class of images can be embedded, how they are embedded, what latent space is suitable for embedding, and if the embedding is semantically meaningful.

Multi-dimensional digital signals have become an intertwined part of day to day life, from digital images and videos used to capture and share life experiences, to more powerful scene representations such as light field images, which open the gate to previously challenging tasks, such as post capture refocusing or eliminating visible occlusions from a scene. This dissertation delves into the world of multi-dimensional signal processing and introduces a tool of particular use for gradient based solutions of well-known signal processing problems. Specifically, a technique to reconstruct a signal from a given gradient data set is developed in the case of two dimensional (2-D), three dimensional (3-D) and four dimensional (4-D) digital signals. The reconstruction technique is multiresolution in nature, and begins by using the given gradient to generate a multi-dimensional Haar wavelet decomposition of the signals of interest, and then reconstructs the signal by Haar wavelet synthesis, performed on successive resolution levels. The challenges in developing this technique are non-trivial and are brought about by the applications at hand. For example, in video content replacement, the gradient data from which a video sequence needs to be reconstructed is a combination of gradient values that belong to different video sequences. In most cases, such operations disrupt the conservative nature of the gradient data set. The effects of the non-conservative nature of the newly generated gradient data set are attenuated by using an iterative Poisson solver at each resolution level during the reconstruction. A second and more important challenge is brought about by the increase in signal dimensionality. In a previous approach, an intermediate extended signal with symmetric region of support is obtained, and the signal of interest is extracted from it. This approach is reasonable in 2-D, but becomes less appealing as the signal dimensionality increases. To avoid generating data that is then discarded, a new approach is proposed, in which signal extension is no longer performed. Instead, different procedures are suggested to generate a non-symmetric Haar wavelet decomposition of the signals of interest. In the case of 2-D and 3-D signals, ways to obtain this decomposition exactly from the given gradient data and the average value of the signal are proposed. In addition, ways to approximate a subset of decomposition coefficients are introduced and the visual consequences of such approximations are studied in the special case of 2-D digital images. Several ways to approximate the same subset of decomposition coefficients are developed in the special case of 4-D light field images. Experiments run on various 2-D, 3-D and 4-D test signals are included to provide an insight on the performance of the reconstruction technique. The value of the multi-dimensional reconstruction technique is then demonstrated by including it in a number of signal processing applications. First, an efficient algorithm is developed with the purpose of combining information from the gradient of a set of 2-D images with different regions in focus or different exposure times, with the purpose of generating an all-in-focus image or revealing details that were lost due to improper exposure setting. Moving on to 3-D signal processing applications, two video editing problems are studied and gradient based solutions are presented. In the first one, the objective is to seamlessly place content from one video sequence in another, while in the second one, to combine elements from two video sequences and generate a transparency effect. Lastly, a gradient based technique for editing 4-D scene representations (light fields) is presented, as well as a technique to combine information from two light fields with the purpose of generating a light field with more details of the imaged scene. All these applications show that the developed technique is a reliable tool for gradient domain based solutions of signal processing problems. / Graduate

Submitted by Silvana Teresinha Dornelles Studzinski (sstudzinski) on 2015-10-08T11:52:50Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Pedro Revillion de Oliveira_.pdf: 2498934 bytes, checksum: eb617ef3af3bcf57ac053e71ab9a0134 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2015-10-08T11:52:50Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Pedro Revillion de Oliveira_.pdf: 2498934 bytes, checksum: eb617ef3af3bcf57ac053e71ab9a0134 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2015-03-04 / Nenhuma / A sociedade contemporânea é caracterizada pela grande quantidade de imagens em circulação. Um dos dispositivos responsáveis por esse fenômeno é o aparelho celular que, em sua grande maioria, contém uma câmera fotográfica embutida. Milhares de pessoas produzem fotografias intensamente com estes dispositivos móveis e publicam nas redes digitais milhões de imagens a cada minuto. Diante desde cenário, o fotojornalismo e o trabalho do fotógrafo profissional está sendo colocado em discussão. O fotojornalismo recebe pressões desse novo “fazer” fotográfico da contemporaneidade. Diante desse cenário, este estudo pretende entender quais as transformações que a fotografia móvel está produzindo nos processos de edição de imagem de um jornal e também na atividade do fotojornalista. Para isso, a pesquisa compreendeu o acompanhamento das práticas de produção fotojornalística do jornal Zero Hora, de Porto Alegre, RS, além de entrevistas com seus profissionais. Detectou-se, entre outros aspectos, que há uma transmutação contínua dos processos, que passam por fases adaptativas, ainda não consolidadas e com diversos pontos de tensionamento. / The contemporary society is characterized by the great quantity of images in circulation. One of the devices responsible for this great phenomenom is the mobile phone, wich in his great majority presents a built-in photographic camera. Thousands of persons produce images intensively whith these devices and then publish in social networks millions of photographs each minute. Whith this scenery, photojournalism and the work of the professional photographer is being put in discussion. Photojournalism is recives a great amount of pressure by this contemporary making of photography. Acknowledging this environment, this study intends to understand what are the transformations that mobile photography is forcing on the processes of image editing in the ambience of a newspaper and also on the workflow of the photojournalist. To do that, the reasearch involves the observation and folowing of the pratices and produtions in photojournalism of the Zero Hora newspaper, from Porto Alegre/Brazil. In this reasearch was detected, among whith many other aspects, that there is continuous transformation of the photographic process, that goes trough adaptives stages, yet still not consolidated and with diversicated tension points.

Purpose – The purpose of the thesis is to investigate whether there is any editing combination in the form of different filters published in the Instagram app, which is noticeably different from each other in the form of negative or positive response. Method – In order to obtain answers to the question, the study has sought to anchor as many theories as possible in scientific, published material. The method of ”small-N-study” in this study will be applied when collecting information about the different filters that the Instagram app allows the user to choose from. A quantitative survey is conducted in an attempt to obtain statistics on how the filters can be ranked from most popular to least popular. To further validate the answers to the questionnaire and to answer the questions 1.1 and 1.2 in the thesis, three interviews are conducted. The aim is to achieve more qualitative answers to the questions and then to compare and analyze the results of the survey. Findings – This study has found that a combination of: moderately colorful, normal contrast, medium opacity, neutral color tone, blue color and medium brightness are good variables to create good a filter. Highly matte and colorless colors, very low contrast, black and white (neutral colors), cool color tones, high brightness and high opacity of the filter are qualities for a filter that gets a lot of negative response. The most popular filter of all 23 in the Instagram app is Clarendon, while the filter with the most negative response is Hefe. Implications – A risk of working deductively may be that theories that already exist on the subject and from which the researcher assumes will target the results of the study. When conducting a ”small-N-study” there is a risk that the variables being analyzed are too few to answer the question at issue.  When conducting a survey, there is always the risk that the questions are too leading, that the test person does not understand, misinterprets or fails to engage in the subject to answer the questionnaire truthfully. When conducting an interview, there is a risk that the interviewees are insufficiently aware of the issues that they can not answer in detail or honestly on the questions.  Limitations – The study is limited to the resources available in time. The subjects who participated in interviews and questionnaires are limited to those the writer could reach out to. Just like the theory found on the subject is limited by the ability of the author to search and review information, as well as language skills and the data published in library and database. The results of the study are limited to the funds used for the objects examined.  Keywords – Color theory, Social Media, Instagram, Filter, Image Editing / Syfte – Syftet med examensarbetet är att undersöka om det finns någon redigeringskombination i form av olika filter som är utgivna i Instagramappen som märkbart står ut jämfört med de andra i form av någon typ av positiv eller negativ respons. Metod –  För att uppnå svar på frågeställningen har studien eftersträvat att kunna förankra så många teorier som möjligt i vetenskapligt material. Metoden ”små-N-studie” kommer i denna studie att tillämpas vid insamlandet av information kring de olika filter som Instagram-appen tillåter användaren att välja mellan. En kvantitativ enkätundersökning genomförs i ett försök att få fram en statistik på hur filterna kan rangordnas från mest populär till minst populär. För att ytterligare validera svaren på enkätundersökningen och få fram svar på delfrågorna 1.1 och 1.2 genomförs tre intervjuer. Intervjuerna genomförs för att kunna ge en djupare insikt och mer svarsutrymme för intervjupersonerna. Resultat – Denna studie har kommit fram till att en kombination av: måttligt färgstark, normal kontrast, medel opacitet, neutral färgton, blå färg och medel ljusstyrka är bra variabler för att skapa ett bra filter. Mycket matta och svaga färger, mycket låg kontrast, svart-vitt (neutrala färger), kalla färgtoner, ljust ljushetsstyrka och hög opacitet på filtret är kvalitéer för ett filter som får  mycket negativ respons.  Det populäraste filtret av alla 23 i Instagramappen är Clarendon, medan det filter med mest negativ respons är Hefe. Implikationer – En risk med att arbeta deduktivt kan vara att de befintliga teorier som redan finns kring ämnet och som forskaren utgår ifrån kommer att rikta studiens resultat. Vid tillämpandet av metoden ”små-N-studie” finns risken att det är svårt att vara tillräckligt nyanserad i insamlandet av variabler och att studien därmed inte blir tillräckligt omfattande för att besvara frågeställningarna.  Vid genomförandet av enkätundersökning finns alltid risken att frågorna är för ledande, inte tillräckligt ingående, att testpersonen inte förstår, tolkar på fel sätt eller inte orkar sätta sig in i ämnet för att svara tillräckligt sanningsenligt på enkäten. Vid genomförande av intervju finns risken att intervjupersonerna inte är tillräckligt insatta i ämnet, att de inte kan svara utförligt eller ärligt på frågorna.  Begränsningar – Studien är begränsad till de resurser som finns tillgängliga i mån av tid. De försökspersoner som deltagit i intervjuer och enkätundersökning är begränsade till de dem författaren kunnat nå ut till precis som den teori som finns hittad om ämnet är begränsad efter den förmåga författaren har att söka och sålla igenom information, samt språkkunnighet och den data som finns publicerad på bibliotek och databaser. Studiens resultat är begränsad till de medel som använts för de objekt som undersökts.  Nyckelord – Färglära, Sociala medier, Instagram, Filter, Bildredigering

Les contributions de cette thèse sont divisées en trois parties principales. Dans la partie 1, nous proposons une méthode locale utilisant une distribution GGM pour approcher les distributions des images en les subdivisant en groupe de pixels que nous appelons dorénavant clusters. L'idée principale consiste à déterminer quelle caractéristique (couleur, luminance) est plus représentative pour une image donnée. Puis nous utilisons cette caractéristique pour subdiviser l'image en clusters. Quatre stratégies de mise en correspondance des clusters de l'image d'entrée avec ceux de l'image cible sont proposées. Ces stratégies ont pour but de produire des images photoréalistes dont le style ressemble à celui de l'image cible (dans notre cas le style d'une image est défini en termes de couleur et luminosité). Nous étendons le principe de transfert de couleur au transfert simultané de couleur et de gradient. Afin de pouvoir décrire las distributions de couleur et de gradient par une seule distribution, nous adoptons le modèle MGGD (multivariate generalized Gaussian distributions). Nous proposons une nouvelle transformation de distribution MGGD pour des applications de traitement d'image telles que le transfert multi-dimensionnel de caractéristiques d'image, de couleur, etc. De plus, nous adoptons aussi un modèle de distribution plus précis (distribution Beta bornée) pour représenter des distributions de couleur et de luminosité. Nous proposons une transformation de distribution Beta qui permet d'effectuer un transfert de couleur entre images et qui s'avère plus performante que celles basées sur les distributions Gaussiennes. Dans la partie 2, nous introduisons une nouvelle méthode permettant de créer des images HDR à partir d'une paire d'images, l'une prise avec flash et l'autre pas. Notre méthode consiste en l'utilisation d'une fonction de luminosité (brightness) simulant la fonction de réponse d'une caméra, et d'une nouvelle fonction d'adaptation de couleur (CAT), appelée CAT bi-locale (bi-local CAT), permettant de reproduire les détails de l'image flash. Cette approche évite toutes les limitations inhérentes aux méthodes classiques de création d'images HDR. Dans la partie 3, nous exploitons le potentiel de notre adaptation bi-locale CAT pour diverses applications d'édition d'image telles que la suppression de bruit (dé-bruitage), suppression de flou, transfert de texture, etc. Nous introduisons notre nouveau filtre guidé dans lequel nous incorporons l'adaptation bi-locale CAT dans la partie 3. / This thesis addresses three main topics from the domain of image processing, i.e. color transfer, high-dynamic-range (HDR) imaging and guidance-based image filtering. The first part of this thesis is dedicated to color transfer between input and target images. We adopt cluster-based techniques and apply Gaussian mixture models to carry out a more precise color transfer. In addition, we propose four new mapping policies to robustly portray the target style in terms of two key features: color, and light. Furthermore, we exploit the properties of the multivariate generalized Gaussian distributions (MGGD). in order to transfer an ensemble of features between images simultaneously. The multi-feature transfer is carried out using our novel transformation of the MGGD. Despite the efficiency of the proposed MGGD transformation for multi-feature transfer, our experiments have shown that the bounded Beta distribution provides a much more precise model for the color and light distributions of images. To exploit this property of the Beta distribution, we propose a new color transfer method, where we model the color and light distributions by the Beta distribution and introduce a novel transformation of the Beta distribution. The second part of this thesis focuses on HDR imaging. We introduce a method for automatic creation of HDR images from only two images - flash and non-flash images. We mimic the camera response function by a brightness function and we recover details from the flash image using our new chromatic adaptation transform (CAT), called bi-local CAT. That way, we efficiently recover the dynamic range of the real-world scenes without compromising the quality of the HDR image (as our method is robust to misalignment). In the context of the HDR image creation, the bi-local CAT recovers details from the flash image, removes flash shadows and reflections. In the last part of this thesis, we exploit the potential of the bi-local CAT for various image editing applications such as image de-noising, image de-blurring, texture transfer, etc. We propose a novel guidance-based filter in which we embed the bi-local CAT. The proposed filter performs as good as (and for certain applications even better than) state-of-the art methods.

We present a new technique for creating an editable vector graphic from an object in a raster image. Object selection is performed interactively in subsecond time by calling graph cut with each mouse movement. A renderable mesh is then computed automatically for the selected object and each of its (sub)objects by (1) generating a coarse object mesh; (2) performing recursive graph cut segmentation and hierarchical ordering of subobjects; (3) applying error-driven mesh refinement to each (sub)object. The result is a fully layered object hierarchy that facilitates object-level editing without leaving holes. Object-based vectorization compares favorably with current approaches in the representation and rendering quality. Object-based vectorization and complex editing tasks are performed in a few 10s of seconds.

The theme for this doctoral thesis focuses on how a film editor strives actively to perceptually frame and direct the film viewer’s gaze across film edits. The editor’s (audio-)visual intentions concerning the film viewing correspond to perceptual considerations that the editor makes during film editing. Film editing in this thesis is considered as a kind of design work, foremost motivated by the possibilities of many new approaches, questions, and answers that a design perspective brings, stretching well beyond what previously adopted perspectives have done. The research questions asked, as well as the presented results, are discussed with regard to design theory, established film production field knowledge, and perception research. Apart from considering audiovisual perception in a film editing context, film editing is also discussed as audiovisual design, and tentative implications for the role of perception in other kinds of design work are pointed out. The results of my analyses are that there is reason to consider parts of film production as design work; that properties of an audiovisual material affect the creative space; that perceptual considerations are a significant part of the film editor’s treatment of the audiovisual material; that film viewers’ response to film edits varies with the shape of the edits; and that this variation is possible to link with the film editor’s intention regarding the edits, as well as to the degree of fulfillment of the intention. I conclude that perceptual precision at the edit point is decisive for attaining a desired film-viewing decoding of a film sequence, and that when the perceptual precision is low, it is likely that the perceived continuity of the film fails. The contribution of this doctoral thesis is that it drives the investigation of actual appliance of perception as audiovisual knowledge in film editing. Hence, it also adds to the more general discussion on perception as part of audiovisual thinking, and how audiovisual knowledge is formed. The thesis contributes to the area of Innovation and Design through its mix of methods, since the main study considers the creation of new artefacts, the thinking going on during that process, as well as human responses to the artefacts. Conclusively, the thesis provides a thorough example of how a design research perspective can add to the understanding of film production, and its trades and activities. / Temat för denna doktorsavhandling är hur det går till när en filmklippare aktivt strävar emot att perceptuellt fånga in och styra sin filmtittares blick över filmklipp. Klipparens (audio-)visuella intentioner med filmtittandet motsvaras av perceptuella överväganden som klipparen gör under klipparbetet. Klipparbetet motiveras i denna avhandling som ett designarbete, främst för att ett designperspektiv på filmproduktion har möjligheter att bidra med många nya infallsvinklar, frågeställningar och svar, som sträcker sig bortom vad tidigare tillämpade perspektiv gör. De forskningsfrågor som ställs, och de svar som presenteras, diskuteras sedan gentemot designteori, etablerad filmproduktionskunskap och perceptionsforskning. Utöver att audiovisuell perception beaktas inom filmklippningskontexten, diskuteras även filmklippning som audiovisuell design, och kopplingar görs till annat designarbete och möjliga implikationer för perceptionens roll i dessa sammanhang. Data om klipparbetet har skapats via videoinspelade deltagande observation där även fortlöpande skärminspelningar skett, medan en filmklippare färdigställde en dokumentärfilmsekvens. Utifrån dessa inspelningar har sedan en elicitering med filmklipparen skett. På så vis har klipparens intentioner och möjliga beaktande av perceptuella faktorer fångats in. Klipparens intentioner avseende filmtittare har sedan testats via ögonrörelsestudier där tittarnas ögondata samlats in medan de tittat på den skapade filmsekvensen. Resultaten av mina analyser är att det finns skäl att betrakta delar av filmproduktion som designarbete, att audiovisuella materialegenskaper påverkar det kreativa utrymmet, att perceptuella hänsyn ingår som en väsentlig del av filmklipparens bearbetning av det audiovisuella materialet, att filmtittares respons på filmklipp varierar med hur klippen är utformade, samt att man kan koppla denna variation till filmklipparens intention med klippen, och graden av intentionens uppfyllelse. Jag drar slutsatserna att perceptuell precision i klippunkten är avgörande för att uppnå en önskad avkodning av en filmsekvens för tittarens del, samt att när den perceptuella precisionen är låg är det troligt att den upplevda kontinuiteten hos filmen fallerar. Doktorsavhandlingens bidrag är att den hjälper till att reda ut den faktiska tillämpningen av perceptionen som audiovisuell kunskap i filmklippning. Men den bidrar därmed även till en mera generell diskussion om perception som en del av audiovisuellt tänkande och formerandet av audiovisuell kunskap. Avhandlingen bidrar till området Innovation och Design genom sin blandning av metoder, eftersom huvudstudien rör skapandet av nya artefakter och tänkande som pågår inom denna process, liksom mänsklig respons på dessa artefakter. Slutligen bidrar avhandlingen med ett genomgripande exempel på hur ett designforskningsperspektiv kan bidra till att förstå delar av filmproduktion, och de yrken och aktiviteter som sker där.

The theme for this doctoral thesis focuses on how a film editor strives actively to perceptually frame and direct the film viewer’s gaze across film edits. The editor’s (audio-)visual intentions concerning the film viewing correspond to perceptual considerations that the editor makes during film editing. Film editing in this thesis is considered as a kind of design work, foremost motivated by the possibilities of many new approaches, questions, and answers that a design perspective brings, stretching well beyond what previously adopted perspectives have done. The research questions asked, as well as the presented results, are discussed with regard to design theory, established film production field knowledge, and perception research. Apart from considering audiovisual perception in a film editing context, film editing is also discussed as audiovisual design, and tentative implications for the role of perception in other kinds of design work are pointed out. The results of my analyses are that there is reason to consider parts of film production as design work; that properties of an audiovisual material affect the creative space; that perceptual considerations are a significant part of the film editor’s treatment of the audiovisual material; that film viewers’ response to film edits varies with the shape of the edits; and that this variation is possible to link with the film editor’s intention regarding the edits, as well as to the degree of fulfillment of the intention. I conclude that perceptual precision at the edit point is decisive for attaining a desired film-viewing decoding of a film sequence, and that when the perceptual precision is low, it is likely that the perceived continuity of the film fails. The contribution of this doctoral thesis is that it drives the investigation of actual appliance of perception as audiovisual knowledge in film editing. Hence, it also adds to the more general discussion on perception as part of audiovisual thinking, and how audiovisual knowledge is formed. The thesis contributes to the area of Innovation and Design through its mix of methods, since the main study considers the creation of new artefacts, the thinking going on during that process, as well as human responses to the artefacts. Conclusively, the thesis provides a thorough example of how a design research perspective can add to the understanding of film production, and its trades and activities. / Temat för denna doktorsavhandling är hur det går till när en filmklippare aktivt strävar emot att perceptuellt fånga in och styra sin filmtittares blick över filmklipp. Klipparens (audio-)visuella intentioner med filmtittandet motsvaras av perceptuella överväganden som klipparen gör under klipparbetet. Klipparbetet motiveras i denna avhandling som ett designarbete, främst för att ett designperspektiv på filmproduktion har möjligheter att bidra med många nya infallsvinklar, frågeställningar och svar, som sträcker sig bortom vad tidigare tillämpade perspektiv gör. De forskningsfrågor som ställs, och de svar som presenteras, diskuteras sedan gentemot designteori, etablerad filmproduktionskunskap och perceptionsforskning. Utöver att audiovisuell perception beaktas inom filmklippningskontexten, diskuteras även filmklippning som audiovisuell design, och kopplingar görs till annat designarbete och möjliga implikationer för perceptionens roll i dessa sammanhang. Data om klipparbetet har skapats via videoinspelade deltagande observation där även fortlöpande skärminspelningar skett, medan en filmklippare färdigställde en dokumentärfilmsekvens. Utifrån dessa inspelningar har sedan en elicitering med filmklipparen skett. På så vis har klipparens intentioner och möjliga beaktande av perceptuella faktorer fångats in. Klipparens intentioner avseende filmtittare har sedan testats via ögonrörelsestudier där tittarnas ögondata samlats in medan de tittat på den skapade filmsekvensen. Resultaten av mina analyser är att det finns skäl att betrakta delar av filmproduktion som designarbete, att audiovisuella materialegenskaper påverkar det kreativa utrymmet, att perceptuella hänsyn ingår som en väsentlig del av filmklipparens bearbetning av det audiovisuella materialet, att filmtittares respons på filmklipp varierar med hur klippen är utformade, samt att man kan koppla denna variation till filmklipparens intention med klippen, och graden av intentionens uppfyllelse. Jag drar slutsatserna att perceptuell precision i klippunkten är avgörande för att uppnå en önskad avkodning av en filmsekvens för tittarens del, samt att när den perceptuella precisionen är låg är det troligt att den upplevda kontinuiteten hos filmen fallerar. Doktorsavhandlingens bidrag är att den hjälper till att reda ut den faktiska tillämpningen av perceptionen som audiovisuell kunskap i filmklippning. Men den bidrar därmed även till en mera generell diskussion om perception som en del av audiovisuellt tänkande och formerandet av audiovisuell kunskap. Avhandlingen bidrar till området Innovation och Design genom sin blandning av metoder, eftersom huvudstudien rör skapandet av nya artefakter och tänkande som pågår inom denna process, liksom mänsklig respons på dessa artefakter. Slutligen bidrar avhandlingen med ett genomgripande exempel på hur ett designforskningsperspektiv kan bidra till att förstå delar av filmproduktion, och de yrken och aktiviteter som sker där.

Description cephalometric images and the characteristic points on the skull for cephalometric analysis. Theoretical analysis of digital image editing and image before the actual detection. The range of possible methods for determining the characteristic points on the face. Experimental verification of edge detectors, Hu moments with neural networks and Haar wavelets with Viola-Jones detector.

This thesis extends the utility of the Monte Carlo approach to PDE-based methods presented in the paper Monte Carlo Geometry Processing. In particular, we implement this method on the GPU using CUDA, and investigate more viable methods of estimating the source integral when solving Poisson’s equation with intricate source terms. This is the case for a large group of gradient-domain methods in computer graphics, where source terms are represented by discrete volumetric data on regular grids. We develop unbiased source integral estimators like image-based importance sampling (IBIS) and biased estimators like source integral caching (SIC) and evaluate these against existing GPU-accelerated finite difference solvers for gradient-domain applications. By decoupling the source integration step from the WoS-algorithm, we find that the SIC method can improve performance by several orders of magnitude, making it competitive with existing finite difference solvers in many cases. We further investigate the viability of distance fields for accelerated distance queries and find that these can provide significant performance improvements compared to BVHs without meaningfully affecting bias. / <p>Examensarbetet är utfört vid Institutionen för teknik och naturvetenskap (ITN) vid Tekniska fakulteten, Linköpings universitet</p>