Optimized shape semantic graph representation for object understanding and recognition in point clouds

To understand and recognize the three-dimensional (3-D) objects represented as point cloud data, we use an optimized shape semantic graph (SSG) to describe 3-D objects. Based on the decomposed components of an object, the boundary surface of different components and the topology of components, the SSG gives a semantic description that is consistent with human vision perception. The similarity measurement of the SSG for different objects is effective for distinguishing the type of object and finding the most similar one. Experiments using a shape database show that the SSG is valuable for capturing the components of the objects and the corresponding relations between them. The SSG is not only suitable for an object without any loops but also appropriate for an object with loops to represent the shape and the topology. Moreover, a two-step progressive similarity measurement strategy is proposed to effectively improve the recognition rate in the shape database containing point-sample data. © 2016 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE) [DOI: 10.1117/1