Scale-space 3D TexMesh simplification

Efficient online 3D visualization is essential for a variety of applications, including not only games and e-commerce, but also heritage and medicine. For efficient online visualization, it is necessary to adapt 3D models (both mesh and texture) quickly to the available computational or network resources. We propose using 3D model simplification based on a scale-space analysis of the surface curvature variations combined with an associated scale-space analysis of the surface texture to reduce the size of texture files, and facilitate distributed transmission. The premise of the proposed simplification is that minor variations in texture can be ignored in relatively smooth regions of a 3D surface, without significantly affecting human perception. Statistics of feature points and their associated texture fragments are gathered during preprocessing. On-line transmission and rendering for the next higher resolution scale is based on the statistics, which can be retrieved in constant time. Quality of service (QoS) can be provided based on the time limit, or the number of vertices, or faces, requested by the viewer. Experimental results showing the simplified models demonstrate the feasibility of our approach.