Section: Application Domains

Geometric Modeling and Shape Reconstruction

Modeling 3D shapes is required for all visualization applications where interactivity is a key feature since the observer can change the viewpoint and get an immediate feedback. This interactivity enhances the descriptive power of the medium significantly. For example, visualization of complex molecules helps drug designers to understand their structure. Multimedia applications also involve interactive visualization and include e-commerce (companies can present their products realistically), 3D games, animation and special effects in motion pictures. The uses of geometric modeling also cover the spectrum of engineering, computer-aided design and manufacture applications (CAD/CAM). More and more stages of the industrial development and production pipeline are now performed by simulation, due to the increased performance of numerical simulation packages. Geometric modeling therefore plays an increasingly important role in this area. Another emerging application of geometric modeling with high impact is medical visualization and simulation.

In a broad sense, shape reconstruction consists of creating digital models of real objects from points. Example application areas where such a process is involved are Computer Aided Geometric Design (making a car model from a clay mockup), medical imaging (reconstructing an organ from medical data), geology (modeling underground strata from seismic data), or cultural heritage projects (making models of ancient and or fragile models or places). The availability of accurate and fast scanning devices has also made the reproduction of real objects more effective such that additional fields of applications are coming into reach. The members of Geometrica have a long experience in shape reconstruction and contributed several original methods based upon the Delaunay and Voronoi diagrams.