Hemicube (computer graphics)


In 3D computer graphics rendering, a hemicube is one way to represent a 180° view from a surface or point in space.

Shape

Although the name implies any half of a cube, a hemicube is usually a cube cut through a plane parallel to one of its faces. Therefore, it consists of one square face, two 2:1 aspect ratio rectangles, and two 1:2 aspect ratio rectangles.

Uses

The hemicube may be used in the Radiosity algorithm or other Light Transport algorithms in order to determine the amount of light arriving at a particular point on a surface.
In some cases, a hemicube may be used in environment mapping or reflection mapping.