3D reconstruction of free-formed line-like objects using NURBS representation

3D reconstruction of arbitrary free-formed objects is an important and challenging problem in computer vision. In this paper, we first discuss the importance of primitive selection in 3D reconstruction. Subsequently, a theorem, which reveals the perspective invariance of NURBS, is shown, making it a good choice as primitive in 3D reconstruction. Consequently, based on this theorem a new paradigm of free-formed line-like object reconstruction using NURBS as primitives is proposed. Furthermore, an approach for determining weights for 3D NURBS is presented, and the width effect of curved line-like objects is analyzed. Finally, experiments with line-like objects and machine part demonstrate the feasibility of our approach and prove the superiority of our approach over the point- or segment-based approaches as well as the B-spline-based reconstruction approach in terms of robustness and accuracy. (C) 2003 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd on behalf of Pattern Recognition Society.