Complex 3D feature registration using a marching template

Abstract

The registration of 3D form features is essential to the supporting of reverse shape design processes. Extracting an editable shape feature from unordered data points is notoriously hard. We present a new method to extract a shape instance plus design parameters from a ridge structure contained in a freeform surface, where the ridge has no predefined path, and can have varying height and width as a function of cumulative arc-length. This complex feature is uncovered by a match-and-crawl algorithm based on partial template matching and shape dissimilarity computation. The (varying) longitudinal direction of the ridge is explicitly registered as a function of arc-length, as are its width and height. The latter two quantities are yielded as independent parameters for subsequent interactive shape modeling processes.