Geometric surface evolution with tangential contribution

Surface processing tools based on Partial Differential Equations (PDEs) are useful in a variety of applications in computer graphics, digital animation, computer aidedmodelling, and computer vision. In this work, we deal with computational issues arising from the discretization of geometric PDE models for the evolution of surfaces, considering both normal and tangential velocities. The evolution of the surface is formulated in a Lagrangian framework. We propose several strategies for tangential velocities, yielding uniform redistribution of mesh points along the evolving family of surfaces, preventing computational instabilities and increasing the mesh regularity. Numerical schemes based on finite co-volume approximation in space will be considered. Finally, we describe how this framework may be employed in applications such as mesh regularization, morphing, and features preserving surface smoothing. © 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.