Automatic Reconstruction of Developable Surfaces

A new method is proposed for developable surface reconstruction. Based on a piecewise planar representation of a given model, the new method automatically recognizes developable regions and corresponding surface rulings on it. An optimization framework is then employed to improve approximation error as well as surface fairness to obtain a set of developable surfaces to cover the whole model. The new method does not depend on a planar status or parametrization of a given model and is therefore capable of dealing with piecewise developable surfaces which cannot be globally developed into a plane. Some examples are included to demonstrate the performance of the proposed method.