Methods and associated systems for simulating illumination patterns

A method for simulating an illumination pattern on a target surface in a space, the method comprising:

• selecting a light source in the space;
• determining a sampling angular range, an initial sampling polygon density, and a sampling polygon type to define a polygon mesh;
• tracing a plurality of sampling rays corresponding to vertices of the polygon mesh and creating an initial illumination pattern with a plurality of sampling polygon projections on the target surface;
• assigning the same value of attributes of the source to each set of rays associated with a single polygon taking substantially the same route from the light source to the target surface in the polygon mesh;
• determining polygons to be subdivided based upon determination of the route of rays taken, and/or based upon attributes of the rays at each vertex;
• selectively tracing additional sampling rays corresponding to the vertices of polygons to be subdivided;
• applying the value of attributes from each polygon to the desired target surface by interpolation between vertices to finalize the illumination pattern on the target surface;
• and
• displaying the illumination pattern on a user interface.

A system for simulating an illumination pattern from a light source on a target surface in a space, the system comprising:

• an input component configured to receive a sampling angular range, an initial sampling polygon density, and a sampling polygon type;
• and
• a simulation component configured to trace a plurality of sampling rays according to the sampling angular range, the initial sampling polygon density, and the sampling polygon type within the sampling angular range,
• wherein the simulation component is further configured to generate an initial illumination pattern with a plurality of sampling polygon projections on the target surface,
• wherein the simulation component is further configured to assign the same value of an attribute in the sampling polygon projections defined by sampling rays through substantially the same route from the light source to the target surface;
• and
• wherein the simulation component is further configured to adjust the value of the attribute in the sampling polygon projection defined by sampling rays from different routes by interpolation according to a predetermined detail requirement to finalize the illumination pattern for display on a user interface.