Teaching Computers How to Perceive 3-D

Two new techniques for computer-vision technology mimic how humans perceive 3-D shapes by instantly recognizing objects no matter how they are twisted or bent, an advance that could help machines see more like people.

As heat diffuses over a surface, using heat mapping and heat distribution, the system follows and captures the precise contours of a shape.

The heat-mapping method works by first breaking an object into a mesh of triangles, the simplest shape that can characterize surfaces, and then calculating the flow of heat over the meshed object. The method does not involve actually tracking heat; it simulates the flow of heat using mathematical principles.

The heat mapping allows a computer to recognize the objects no matter how the figures are bent or twisted and is able to ignore "noise" introduced by imperfect laser scanning or other erroneous data.

The researchers tested their method on complex shapes, including hands, the human form and a centaur.