Sketch-based Segmentation of Scanned Outdoor Environment Models

Abstract

When modeling with scanned outdoor models, being able to select a subset of the points efficiently that collectively represent an object is an important and fundamental operation. Such segmentation problems have been extensively studied, and simple and efficient solutions exist in two dimensions. However, 3D segmentation, especially that of sparse point models obtained by scanning, remains a challenge because of inherent incompleteness and noise. We present a sketched-based interface that allows segmentation of general 3D point-based models. The user marks object and background regions by placing strokes using a stylus, and the tool segments out the marked object(s). To refine the results, the user simply moves the camera to a different location and repeats the process. Our method is based on graph cuts, a popular and well-tested paradigm for segmentation problems. We employ a two-pass process: we use the strokes to perform 2D image segmentation in the projection plane of the camera and use its results for the 3D scanned data segmentation. The advantages of our method are ease of use, speed and robustness. Our method works for general 3D point models and not just range images. Important applications include selection of objects when dealing with large, unorganized point models for refinement, remodeling, meshing, etc.