The Role of Semantics in Shape Modelling and Reasoning

1 Abstract Due to recent technological advances, 3D geometry is becoming commonplace on all the entry-level PCs connected to the Internet, and multimedia-enabled systems must be prepared to a great increase of complex 3D content in the future. However, while Computer Graphics research has solved many problems related to the creation and manipulation of digital 3D shapes, work on how to extract, store and handle semantic content about 3D models is still at the beginning. Undoubtedly, the development of tools for the management of knowledge related to 3D shapes is fundamental to foster the development of totally new approaches to 3D content creation, retrieval and usage. In this paper we describe AIM@SHAPE’s view of the digital shape lifecycle, and explain novel approaches to tackle the semantic annotation of 3D shapes.