The Correlated Correspondence Algorithm for Unsupervised Registration of Nonrigid Surfaces

We present an unsupervised algorithm for registering 3D surface scans of an object undergoing significant deformations. Our algorithm does not use markers, nor does it assume prior knowledge about object shape, the dynamics of its deformation, or scan alignment. The algorithm registers two meshes by optimizing a joint probabilistic model over all point-topoint correspondences between them. This model enforces preservation of local mesh geometry, as well as more global constraints that capture the preservation of geodesic distance between corresponding point pairs. The algorithm applies even when one of the meshes is an incomplete range scan; thus, it can be used to automatically fill in the remaining surfaces for this partial scan, even if those surfaces were previously only seen in a different configuration. We evaluate the algorithm on several real-world datasets, where we demonstrate good results in the presence of significant movement of articulated parts and non-rigid surface deformation. Finally, we show that the output of the algorithm can be used for compelling computer graphics tasks such as interpolation between two scans of a non-rigid object and automatic recovery of articulated object models.