Spectral rendering The core of Luxrender is fully spectral. Unlike traditional rendering software, which only operates on distinct colors (such as red, green and blue), Luxrender uses individual wavelengths. This allows LuxRender to correctly deal with wavelength dependent effects, such as dispersion, or accurately capture the color of incandescent lights. It also makes the rendered images look more natural.
This software was developed (or is under development) within the higher education and research community. It’s stability can vary (see fields below) and its working state is not guaranteed.
I joined the EVASION team in september 2006 in order to work on real time rendering of natural landscapes as a whole. I'm interested in the animation and realistic rendering of terrain, atmosphere, ocean, vegetation, rivers, clouds, etc. I'm looking for real-time and scalable algorithms allowing users to navigate freely anywhere in very large landscapes (up to whole planets), from ground to space, without visible transitions.
This planet was by far the hardest for me to render properly. I've put together two different models of Earth; one is designed to be photo-realistic, and the other is designed after NASA's Blue Marble. Both models include optional night and city lights sections. These Earth models have been used in various productions by hobbyists and film groups. I've written a tutorial demonstrating how to build the models - you may find it here.