Zeta: A Resolution Modeling System

Very large graphics models are common in a number of applications, and many di erent simpli cation methods have been recently developed. Some of them support the construction of multiresolution representations of the input meshes. On the basis of these innovative techniques, we foresee a modeling framework based on three separate stages (shape modeling, multiresolution encoding and resolution modeling), and propose a new approach to the last stage, resolution modeling, which is highly general, user-driven and not strictly tied to a particular simpli cation method. The approach proposed is based on a multiresolution representation scheme for triangulated, 2manifold meshes, the Hypertriangulation Model (HyT). This scheme allows to selectively \walk" along the multiresolution surface, moving between adjacent faces e ciently. A prototypal resolution modeling system, Zeta, has been implemented to allow interactive modeling of surface details and evaluated on several practical models. It supports: e cient extraction of xed resolution representations; uni ed management of selective re nement and selective simpli cation; easy composition of the selective re nement/simpli cation actions, with no cracks in the variable resolution mesh produced; multiresolution editing; interactive response times. CR Descriptors: I.3.5 [Computer Graphics]: Computational Geometry and Object Modeling Curve, surface, solid and object representation; I.3.6 [Computer Graphics]: Methodology and Techniques. Additional