Regular 3D mesh reconstruction based on cylindrical mapping

Complete 3D surface models of real objects can be obtained by integrating several range images, each representing a different view of the object. The mesh generated for these models have irregular connectivity in general. Several remeshing techniques have been proposed to approximate the irregular mesh models with regular meshes, which have several advantages in several applications. We present a prototype of a system to generate regular 3D models of real objects with a simple setup of a single 3D scanner and a turntable. Multiple scans representing different parts of the object surface are mapped on a 2D plane, which facilitates the processes of smooth integration, hole filling and regularization. The complete 3D surface model is represented like a 2D image, on which existing and new signal and image processing techniques can be applied easily.