Constructing a Reeb graph automatically from cross sections

Abstract

The Reeb graph represents the topological skeleton of a 3-D object and shows between which contours the surface patches should be generated. To construct the graph automatically, a weight function is defined for a pair of contours with each contour lying on the adjacent cross sections. First, the algorithm automatically generates the major parts of the edges of the Reeb graph where the number of contours does not change. Then the rest of the graph is determined by using the weight function and prior knowledge of the number of holes the object has. Specifically, the graph is completed by adding edges that do not contradict the known number of holes in descending order of the weight.