Perceptual Attributes Analysis of Real-world Materials

Material appearance is often represented by a bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF). Although the concept of the BRDF is widely used in computer graphics and related applications, the number of actual captured BRDFs is limited due to a time and resources demanding measurement process. Several BRDF databases have already been provided publicly, yet subjective properties of underlying captured material samples, apart from single photographs, remain unavailable for users. In this article, we analyzed material samples, used in the creation of the UTIA BRDF database, in a psychophysical study with nine subjects and assessed its 12 visual, tactile, and subjective attributes. Further, we evaluated the relationship between the attributes and six material categories. We consider the presented perceptual analysis as valuable and complementary information to the database; that could aid users to select appropriate materials for their applications.