3D surface modeling from curves

Traditional approaches for surface reconstruction from range data require that the input data be either range images or unorganized sets of points. With these methods, range data acquired along curvilinear patterns cannot be used for surface reconstruction unless constraints are imposed on the shape of the patterns or on sensor displacement. This paper presents a novel approach for reconstructing a surface from a set of arbitrary, unorganized and intersecting curves. A strategy for updating the reconstructed surface during data acquisition is described as well. Curves are accumulated in a volumetric structure in which a vector field is built and updated. The information that is needed for efficient curve registration is also directly available in the vector field. The proposed modeling approach combines surface reconstruction and curve registration into a unified procedure. The algorithm implementing the approach is of linear complexity with respect to the number of input curves and makes it suitable for interactive modeling. Simulated data based on a set of six curvilinear patterns as well as data acquired with a range sensor are used to illustrate the various steps of the algorithm.