Implicit Sweep Surfaces

Abstract

A technique is presented for generating implicit sweep objects that support direct specification and manipulation of the surface with no topological limitations on the 2D sweep template. The novelty of this method is that the underlying scalar field is bounded and C1 continuous, apart from surface creases. Bounded scalar fields guarantee local in- fluence when modeling with implicit surfaces, an important usbility requirement for interactive modeling. A discrete approximation is also described that supports fast evaluation for bounded scalar fields. The new sweep objects are implemented in an interactive BlobTree modeling tool, providing an intuitive and expressive free-form implicit modeling component. This sweep representation permits conversion of parametric sweep surfaces to implicit volumes. An application to volume reconstruction from parallel contours is also explored.