A method of 3D surface correspondence and interpolation for merging shape examples

A method for corresponding the triangulated mesh surface representations of two shapes is presented. It comprises a method of polyhedral mesh decimation and a symmetric version of the iterative Closest Point (ICP) algorithm. The method produces a matching pair of sparse polyhedral approximations, one for each shape surface, using a global Euclidean measure of similarity. A method of surface patch parameterisation is presented which uses minimal paths constructed across the surface of a polyhedron. We describe the use of this patch parameterisation in the interpolation of surfaces for the construction of a merged mean shape with a densely triangulated surface. Results are presented for the production of a binary tree of merged biological shapes which may be used as a basis for the automated landmarking of a set of examples. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.