Principal patches-a viewpoint-invariant surface description

The authors deal with the principal patch representation of visible surfaces in a scene, an algorithm for creating a stable surface model in this representation, and an algorithm for extending this model into subsequent views. The representation is based on the fact that the lines of minimum and maximum curvature on a generic smooth surface are orthogonal at almost every point. An engineering solution is presented for creating global principal patch networks. By computing the lines of curvature from a range image, it will be possible to construct a mesh data structure and repatch the surface with tensor product surfaces that are virtually free of tensor product artifacts and allow application of intersurface continuity algorithms. The authors focus on the computational difficulties encountered in building a quadrilateral mesh based on integrated lines of curvature