LuxRender is a physically based and unbiased rendering engine. It is a free and open-source application that simulates the physics of light to realistically render a 3D scene. It is used to generate high-quality images, which can be used for product visualizations, animations, architectural visualizations, and more. LuxRender leverages the power of photorealism by simulating the behavior of light, including reflections, refractions, and global illumination. LuxRender is easily extensible with plugins and supports a variety of asset formats, allowing users to easily integrate their content into the software. It also supports a wide range of global illumination algorithms, including photon mapping, path tracing, and Bi-Directional Path Tracing (BDPT). LuxRender is available as a standalone application and as an integrated plugin for other 3D and compositing software.
Indigo was the predecessor of Lux. When it first became commercially available, Lux began to be developed around the same ideas, so it had a similar material workflow and rendering algorithm while remaining free.