<p>To answer my own question...</p>
<p><strong>Inverse rendering</strong> is an inverse problem - among others - that aims to recover the parameters of a scene, including those pertaining to geometry, materials, and lighting. It is often used in the fields of computer vision/graphics.</p>
<p>In general, an <strong>inverse problem</strong> is one that aims to recover the parameters of a model (&quot;causes&quot;) that gave rise to the observed data. Other inverse problems include 3D reconstruction (computer vision), phase retrieval (signal processing with applications in various fields of science), and human visual perception of the 3D scene (vision science; details omitted). Note that inverse problems are inherently <em><strong>ill-posed</strong></em>, meaning that there are multiple parameters/causes/underlying structure that may have given rise to the observations we make.</p>
<p>On the other hand, <strong>inverse graphics</strong> is a broader term that encompasses not only recovering <em>scene</em> parameters (like inverse rendering does), but also more meta-level attributes such as the semantic relationship between objects, scene layout, motions in the scene, as well as object-object or object-scene interactions.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2024-09-26T23:42:54.327Z
2024-09-26T23:42:54.327Z
Nikita
<p>I'm trying to learn computer graphics on my own and wanted to clarify -</p>
<p>What is the difference between <strong>inverse graphics</strong> and <strong>inverse rendering</strong>?</p>
<p>Would it be correct to say that inverse rendering is a <em>subtopic</em> of inverse graphics? My current understanding is that inverse rendering tries to estimate the physical properties of the scene, while inverse graphics is a more comprehensive term.</p>
<p>If there are any resources I can read to learn more about this, please don't hesitate to share below :)</p>

<rendering><3d>
Difference between inverse rendering and inverse graphics
Nikita
# Difference between inverse rendering and inverse graphics

(Asked by: username_0 on 2024-08-19)

I'm trying to learn computer graphics on my own and wanted to clarify -

What is the difference between **inverse graphics** and **inverse rendering**?

Would it be correct to say that inverse rendering is a *subtopic* of inverse graphics? My current understanding is that inverse rendering tries to estimate the physical properties of the scene, while inverse graphics is a more comprehensive term.

If there are any resources I can read to learn more about this, please don't hesitate to share below :)

**Tags:** rendering, 3d


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_0 on 2024-09-26. Score: 0

To answer my own question...

**Inverse rendering** is an inverse problem - among others - that aims to recover the parameters of a scene, including those pertaining to geometry, materials, and lighting. It is often used in the fields of computer vision/graphics.

In general, an **inverse problem** is one that aims to recover the parameters of a model ("causes") that gave rise to the observed data. Other inverse problems include 3D reconstruction (computer vision), phase retrieval (signal processing with applications in various fields of science), and human visual perception of the 3D scene (vision science; details omitted). Note that inverse problems are inherently ***ill-posed***, meaning that there are multiple parameters/causes/underlying structure that may have given rise to the observations we make.

On the other hand, **inverse graphics** is a broader term that encompasses not only recovering *scene* parameters (like inverse rendering does), but also more meta-level attributes such as the semantic relationship between objects, scene layout, motions in the scene, as well as object-object or object-scene interactions.


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