Patent ID: 7188103

Claim:
A three-dimensional model search method of searching for a specific three-dimensional model of a plurality of three-dimensional models, comprising: a search object image production step of producing a plurality of two-dimensional images obtained by observing the specific three-dimensional model as an object of search from points of view different from one another based on the specific three-dimensional model; a search object storage step for storing three-dimensional model information regarding the specific three-dimensional model and two-dimensional image information regarding the plurality of two-dimensional images; a search key input step of inputting a two-dimensional image as a search key; a comparison step for comparing a similarity of the two-dimensional image input as the search key with similarities of the plurality of two-dimensional images for which the two-dimensional image information is stored in the search object storage step, the comparison step being carried out based on feature values, which are parameter values obtained based on color components as a histogram obtained by quantizing values for respective color information, which is contained as those image components of image components in each of the two-dimensional images, which enable the similarities to be determined, and a shape histogram obtained by quantizing edge differentials; a determination step for determining similarities of the two-dimensional images based on a result of comparison in the comparison step; and a three-dimensional model specification step for specifying a three-dimensional model associated with a two-dimensional image whose similarity is determined to be high in the determination step.