Construction of Articulated Models from Range Data

In this paper we present an algorithm for automatically building models of articulated objects from range data. These models not only describe the surface shape of the object but also describe the kinematics that constrain the movement of one object component in relation to another. This is more diicult than building models of rigid objects because the association of surface measurements to object components must be determined. The algorithm is demonstrated on a diicult object with free-form surfaces.