Extraction of curve-skeletons is a fundamental problem with many applications in computer graphics and visualization. In this paper, we present a simple and robust skeleton extraction method based on mesh contraction. The method works directly on the mesh domain, without pre-sampling the mesh model into a volumetric representation. The method first contracts the mesh geometry into a zero-volume skeletal shape by applying implicit Laplacian smoothing with global positional constraints. The contraction does not alter the mesh connectivity and retains the key features of the original mesh. The contracted mesh is then converted into a 1D curveskeleton through a connectivity surgery process to remove all the collapsed faces while preserving the shape of the contracted mesh and the original topology. The centeredness of the skeleton is refined by exploiting the induced skeleton-mesh mapping. In addition to producing a curve skeleton, the method generates other valuable information about the object's geometry, in particular, the skeletonvertex correspondence and the local thickness, which are useful for various applications. We demonstrate its effectiveness in mesh segmentation and skinning animation.
Furthermore, a geometric-based framework for extracting curve-skeletons is applied directly on the mesh domain and does not require voxelization REF .
Skeleton extraction by mesh contraction
SIGGRAPH '08
Computer Science