Section: Highlights of the Year

Highlights of the Year

Geometry Processing: New Algorithms / New Software

This year we developed a set of geometric algorithms to robustly manipulate 3D data and generate volumetric meshes from them, with a special focus on usability, efficiency and robustness. The pipeline that we developed includes a simple and scalable surface reconstruction algorithms, a compiler for generating C++ code for robust geometric predicates, an efficient implementation of 3D Delaunay triangulation, the first algorithm to compute optimal transport in 3D, and an algorithm to generate hexahedral-dominant meshes.

As a result of the VORPALINE ERC Proof of Concept project, we distribute most of these algorithms in our open-source low-level Geogram library and Graphite graphics user interface. Some algorithms are distributed in the commercial VORPALINE software (hex-dominant meshing), proposed to the sponsors of the GOCAD consortium. The Proof of Concept project made it possible to set up tools for software quality (continuous integration, non-regression testing, systematic Doxygen documentation of all classes/functions/parameters).

Fabrication

This year has seen some important advances regarding the objectives of the ERC ShapeForge, with the publications of two novel techniques for the synthesis of structures from examples [9] , [12] . We have proposed to formulate a shape synthesis problem as an appearance synthesis problem under minimal rigidity constraints. This affords for the automatic synthesis of structurally sound objects under specific boundary conditions (attachments and loads), while producing objects that visually resemble an example pattern.

We have continued to include the results of our research into our additive manufacturing software IceSL, which has been augmented with a new user interface to make it more accessible.

This year we also gave a half-day course at ACM SIGGRAPH on fused filament deposition software in collaboration with Makerbot, one of the major manufacturer of consumer level 3D printers. The course is available online at http://webloria.loria.fr/~slefebvr/sig15fdm/ .