A GENERAL FRAMEWORK FOR IMPLICIT MODELING

Date
2002-03-15
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Abstract
A new implicit modeling method is introduced which represents a complex object as a hierarchy of implicit surfaces, in which each level is constrained by its parent. The method can be used in a variety of applications in modeling and animation. Novel aspects of the method are its ability to progressively refine the model, to create complex implicit objects through the composition of blending, controlled blending, CSG Boolean operations, and precise contact modeling, and to change the overall shape of the model while maintaining the integrity of the object. Most implicit modeling techniques build models that are collections of globally defined primitives or hierarchies in which each level is unconstrained by its parent. Our method builds a hierarchy of implicit surfaces progressively as new local details are introduced. As in H-Splines, local details are added to constrained areas and maintained during large scale shape changes. The method is well suited for both interactive and procedural implicit modeling. In addition, we describe a new methodology for the composition of implicit surfaces. We illustrate the intuitiveness and effectiveness of the new method in a number of examples of biological and engineering modeling and animation.
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Computer Science
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