LOD / Level of Detail

Level of Detail (LOD) refers to any signal like geometry or textures being represented with differents level of quality. LOD 0 being the original quality, every other LOD level is a simplification of the original signal. The bigger the level, the more simplified the signal is.

Usage in Computer Graphics

LOD is used to optimize the rendering of complex scenes by reducing the amount of data that needs to be processed. This is particularly useful in real-time applications where performance is critical.

In the example of 3D scenes, LOD can be used to reduce the level of detail of objects that are far away from the camera, as they will appear smaller on the screen and therefore do not require as much detail. This can help improve performance by reducing the number of polygons that need to be rendered.