Automated generation of free-form deformations by using evolution strategies

Free-form deformation is an efficient, intuitive, and elegant method for solid geometric modeling and soft object animation. It is defined via a set of control points initially positioned at a regular user-defined 3D lattice, which embeds either the whole geometric model or just part of it. By successively deforming the 3D lattice, the model is deformed as well, e.g. into a bent, twisted or tapered model with a rather complex shape. Traditionally, the displacement of the control points is performed interactively until the final model meets the aesthetic requirements of the designer. On the other hand, e.g. in the field of practical engineering, the models have to fulfill physical requirements respectively quality criteria.In this case, the new positions of the control points need to be calculated, which is a very complex optimization task. We propose to use evolution strategies to solve this problem. The advantages and possibilities of this approach are demonstrated with one example, the calorimetric characterization of a scanner, where the results can directly be compared with the results; gained by a standard polynomial regression algorithm.