Blended deformable models

We develop a new class of parameterized models based on the linear interpolation of two parameterized shapes using a blending function. Using a small number of additional parameters, blending extends the coverage of shape primitives. In particular, it offers the ability to construct shapes whose genus can change. Blended models are incorporated into our physics-based shape estimation framework which uses dynamic deformable models with global and local deformations. We present experiments involving the extraction of complex shapes including an example of dynamic genus change.