D-Charts: Quasi-Developable Mesh Segmentation

Quasi-developable mesh segmentation is required for many applications in graphics and CAD, including texture atlas generation and the design of patterns for model fabrication from sheets of material. In this work we introduce D-Charts, a simple and robust algorithm for mesh segmentation into (nearly) developable charts. As part of our method we introduce a new metric of developability for mesh surfaces. Thanks to this metric, using our segmentation for texture atlas generation, we can bound the distortion of the atlas directly during the segmentation stage. We demonstrate that by using this bound, we generate more isometric atlases for the same number of charts compared to existing state-of-the-art techniques. Using our segmentation algorithm we also develop a technique for automatic pattern design. To demonstrate the practicality of this technique, we use the patterns produced by our algorithm to make fabric and paper copies of popular computer graphics models.