Abstract
This paper addresses the problem of reconstructing an integrated 3D model from multiple 2.5D range images. A novel integration algorithm is presented based on a continuous implicit surface representation. This is the first reconstruction algorithm to use operations in 3D space only. The algorithm is guaranteed to reconstruct the correct topology of surface features larger than the range image sampling resolution. Reconstruction of triangulated models from multi-image data sets is demonstrated for complex objects. Performance characterization of existing range image integration algorithms is addressed in the second part of this paper. This comparison defines the relative computational complexity and geometric limitations of existing integration algorithms.