An improved decimation of triangle meshes based on curvature

Abstract

This paper proposes an improved decimation of triangle meshes based on curvature. Mesh simplification based on vertex decimation is simple and easy for implementation. But in previous mesh simplification researches based on vertex decimation, algorithms generally focused on the distance error between the simplified mesh and the original mesh. However, a high quality simplified mesh must have low approximation error and preserve geometric features of the original model. According to this consideration, the proposed algorithm improves classical vertex decimation by calculating the mean curvature of each vertex and considering the change of curvature in local ring. Meanwhile, this algorithm wraps the local triangulation by a global triangulation. Experimental results demonstrate that our approach can preserve the major topology characteristics and geometric features of the initial models after simplifying most vertices, without complicated calculation. It also can reduce the influence from noises and staircase effects in the process of reconstruction, and result in a smooth surface.