A new method for the characterization of topographic surfaces

Abstract A method is described for the extraction of morphological information from a terrain approximated by a Delaunay triangulation, in order to find a combinatorial simpler surface description while maintaining its basic features. Characteristic regions (i.e., regions with concave, convex, planar or saddle shape) are considered the basic descriptive elements of the surface morphology, and are defined by taking into account the type of adjacency between triangles. Adjacencies between regions define the surface characteristic lines, which are classified as ridges, ravines or generic creases, and characteristic points, which are classified as maxima, minima or saddle points. A graph-like data structure is constructed on these shape features, called the Characteristic Region Configuration Graph, which represents die surface in an effective and concise way.