4 research outputs found
3D mesh metamorphosis from spherical parameterization for conceptual design
Engineering product design is an information intensive decision-making
process that consists of several phases including design specification
definition, design concepts generation, detailed design and analysis,
and manufacturing. Usually, generating geometry models for
visualization is a big challenge for early stage conceptual design.
Complexity of existing computer aided design packages constrains
participation of people with various backgrounds in the design
process. In addition, many design processes do not take advantage of
the rich amount of legacy information available for new concepts
creation.
The research presented here explores the use of advanced graphical
techniques to quickly and efficiently merge legacy information with
new design concepts to rapidly create new conceptual product designs.
3D mesh metamorphosis framework 3DMeshMorpher was created to
construct new models by navigating in a shape-space of registered
design models. The framework is composed of: i) a fast spherical
parameterization method to map a geometric model (genus-0) onto a unit
sphere; ii) a geometric feature identification and picking technique
based on 3D skeleton extraction; and iii) a LOD controllable 3D
remeshing scheme with spherical mesh subdivision based on the
developedspherical parameterization. This efficient software framework
enables designers to create numerous geometric concepts in real time
with a simple graphical user interface.
The spherical parameterization method is focused on closed genus-zero
meshes. It is based upon barycentric coordinates with convex boundary.
Unlike most existing similar approaches which deal with each vertex in
the mesh equally, the method developed in this research focuses
primarily on resolving overlapping areas, which helps speed the
parameterization process. The algorithm starts by normalizing the
source mesh onto a unit sphere and followed by some initial relaxation
via Gauss-Seidel iterations. Due to its emphasis on solving only
challenging overlapping regions, this parameterization process is much
faster than existing spherical mapping methods.
To ensure the correspondence of features from different models, we
introduce a skeleton based feature identification and picking method
for features alignment. Unlike traditional methods that align single
point for each feature, this method can provide alignments for
complete feature areas. This could help users to create more
reasonable intermediate morphing results with preserved topological
features. This skeleton featuring framework could potentially be
extended to automatic features alignment for geometries with similar
topologies. The skeleton extracted could also be applied for other
applications such as skeleton-based animations.
The 3D remeshing algorithm with spherical mesh subdivision is
developed to generate a common connectivity for different mesh models.
This method is derived from the concept of spherical mesh subdivision.
The local recursive subdivision can be set to match the desired LOD
(level of details) for source spherical mesh. Such LOD is controllable
and this allows various outputs with different resolutions. Such
recursive subdivision then follows by a triangular correction process
which ensures valid triangulations for the remeshing. And the final
mesh merging and reconstruction process produces the remeshing model
with desired LOD specified from user. Usually the final merged model
contains all the geometric details from each model with reasonable
amount of vertices, unlike other existing methods that result in big
amount of vertices in the merged model. Such multi-resolution outputs
with controllable LOD could also be applied in various other computer
graphics applications such as computer games
Structural Surface Mapping for Shape Analysis
Natural surfaces are usually associated with feature graphs, such as the cortical surface with anatomical atlas structure. Such a feature graph subdivides the whole surface into meaningful sub-regions. Existing brain mapping and registration methods did not integrate anatomical atlas structures. As a result, with existing brain mappings, it is difficult to visualize and compare the atlas structures. And also existing brain registration methods can not guarantee the best possible alignment of the cortical regions which can help computing more accurate shape similarity metrics for neurodegenerative disease analysis, e.g., Alzheimer’s disease (AD) classification. Also, not much attention has been paid to tackle surface parameterization and registration with graph constraints in a rigorous way which have many applications in graphics, e.g., surface and image morphing.
This dissertation explores structural mappings for shape analysis of surfaces using the feature graphs as constraints. (1) First, we propose structural brain mapping which maps the brain cortical surface onto a planar convex domain using Tutte embedding of a novel atlas graph and harmonic map with atlas graph constraints to facilitate visualization and comparison between the atlas structures. (2) Next, we propose a novel brain registration technique based on an intrinsic atlas-constrained harmonic map which provides the best possible alignment of the cortical regions. (3) After that, the proposed brain registration technique has been applied to compute shape similarity metrics for AD classification. (4) Finally, we propose techniques to compute intrinsic graph-constrained parameterization and registration for general genus-0 surfaces which have been used in surface and image morphing applications
The design and engineering of variable character morphology
Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, School of Architecture and Planning, Program in Media Arts and Sciences, September 2001."August 2001."Includes bibliographical references (p. 79-82).This thesis explores the technical challenges and the creative possibilities afforded by a computational system that allows behavioral control over the appearance of a character's morphology. Working within the framework of the Synthetic Character's behavior architecture, a system has been implemented that allows a character's internal state to drive changes in its morphology. The system allows for real-time, multi-target blending between body geometries, skeletons, and animations. The results reflect qualitative changes in the character's appearance and state. Through the thesis character sketches are used to demonstrate the potential of this integrated approach to behavior and character morphology.Scott Michael Eaton.S.M