Geometry processing is the field concerned with acquiring, representing, analysing and manipulating geometric models, typically triangle meshes and point clouds. It encompasses operations such as smoothing, simplification, parameterisation, remeshing and surface reconstruction, drawing on differential geometry and linear algebra. Geometry processing underpins 3D content pipelines, simulation and rendering by transforming raw or noisy geometric data into clean, structured representations suitable for downstream use.
Overview
- Acquires, represents and transforms geometric data, chiefly meshes and point clouds.
- Includes smoothing, simplification, parameterisation, remeshing and reconstruction.
- Bridges raw captured geometry to clean, renderable and simulatable models.
Key aspects
- Mesh data structures and connectivity representations.
- Surface parameterisation and texture coordinate generation.
- Mesh simplification and level-of-detail generation.
- Surface reconstruction from point clouds and noisy scans.
Applications
- 3D content creation and asset optimisation.
- Real-time rendering and game engine pipelines.
- Digital twins and simulation geometry preparation.
- 3D scanning and reverse engineering workflows.