Minimal-Cut Shape Composition

Constructing new, complex models is often done by reusing parts of existing models, typically by applying a sequence of segmentation, alignment and composition operations. Segmentation, either manual or automatic, is rarely adequate for this task, since it is applied to each model independently, leaving it to the user to trim the shapes and determine where to connect them. In this paper we propose a new composition tool. Our tool obtains as input two models, aligned either manually or automatically, and a small set of constraints indicating which portions of the two shapes should be preserved in the final output. It then automatically negotiates the best location to connect the models, trimming and stitching them as required to produce a seamless result. We offer a method based on the graph theoretic minimal cut as a means of implementing this new tool. We describe a system intended for both expert and novice users, allowing the user easy and flexible control over the composition result. In addition, we show our method to be well suited for a variety of model processing applications such as model repair, hole filling, and piecewise rigid deformations.