Discontinuity-embedded deformable models for surface reconstruction from range images

Surface reconstruction is a critical step in three-dimensional image processing and understanding. In this letter, a discontinuity-embedded deformable model has been developed to model surfaces with discontinuities. Governed by the Lagrange motion equation, a finite-element representation of the model can dynamically fit the data in both continuous and discontinuous components, reaching its equilibrium in response to induced forces. Experimental results on synthetic and range images demonstrate a significant improvement in preserving depth discontinuities over conventional approaches.