Lighting Design: A Goal Based Approach using Optimisation

There is a need for reliable lighting design applications because available tools are limited and inappropriate for interactive or creative use. Architects and lighting designers need those applications to define, predict, test and validate lighting solutions for their problems. We present a new approach to the lighting design problem based on a methodology that includes the geometry of the scene, the properties of materials and the design goals. It is possible to obtain luminaire characteristics or other kind of results that maximise the attainment of the design goals, which may include different types of constraints or objectives (lighting, geometrical or others). The main goal, in our approach, is to improve the lighting design cycle. In this work we discuss the use of optimisation in lighting design, describe the implementation of the methodology, present real-world based examples and analyse in detail some of the complex technical problems associated and speculate on how to overcome them.