Completing a model based on laser scan generated point cloud data

Abstract

This paper is a master thesis for the Department of Computer and Information Science at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, spring 2008. It is a study of hole filling in three dimensional surface models obtained from scanned real world objects. The goal of this project is to find solutions that are capable of filling an incomplete model in a plausible and visually pleasing manner. To reach this goal both theoretical studies and practical testing were performed. This paper presents a theoretical foundation, needed to gain a greater understanding of the problem, and the results from the testing phase. This knowledge and experience is then used to present a possible solution to the hole filling problem. The conclusions of this project is that automatic procedures, that are thoroughly documented in the literature, fails to perform in a satisfactory manner when the data set becomes too complicated. The Nidaros Cathedral is such a difficult data set, and will require a customized and user guided solution to met the goals of this project.