MeshFree Research Group at the University of West Bohemia

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Research Group Mission

The research group focuses on development of new methods for spatio-temporal data representation, manipulation and new data structures development using “meshless” approach in the fields of computer graphics and visualization and interpolation techniques.

The main goals of the project are:

• meshless surface representations, manipulation, compression/reduction and rendering issues for large data sets
• development of new algorithms especially for surface representation of spatio-temporal data, i.e. interpolation, approximation
• compression techniques, i.e. how to reduce data representing a surface with regard to a resulting error
• research in RBF approximation methods for computer graphics
• development of analogue methods to compression of dynamic (t-varying) triangular meshes with a constant connectivity in order to avoid “constant connectivity” issues

Objectives

Objects in computer graphics are usually defined as a surface model using a surface description, e.g. polygonal meshes, parametric patches etc., or as a volumetric model using computer solid geometry etc. Available hardware is optimized actually for triangular meshes. Recently a surface of time varying objects was represented by a triangular mesh with a constant connectivity. It enables to make effective data representation, compression, transmission, decompression and rendering of such models.

In the discrete case, volumetric models are mostly considered, like CT and MRI images, standard techniques like marching cubes or tetrahedra are used and data are represented in regular or adaptive structured meshes.

This project is targeted to exploitation of meshless (meshfree) representations, manipulation, compression/reduction and rendering issues especially for scattered spatio-temporal data. As the meshless techniques are easily scalable to higher dimensions and handle spatial scattered data, research will be targeting also to spatial-temporal data, where quite new methods can be expected and applied also in many engineering computations and GIS systems etc.

Applicability of results:

There are several fields, where reached results should find direct applicability, especially in:

• computer graphics – meshless modeling and shape deformations
• rendering of meshless defined objects, i.e. surface extraction
• haptic rendering – soft tissues modeling in haptic systems and virtual reality systems
• surface reconstruction of noisy scattered data, e.g. in 3D laser scanning
• CAD/CAM systems – similarly as parametric patches, like Bézier, Hermit and NURBS etc., reverse engineering problem solution
• GIS systems – an alternative surface representations

Also some results (especially theoretical ones) are expected to contribute to other fields, e.g.:

• solution of partial differential equations, e.g. problems in heat transfer or electro-magnetic field, etc.
• computational archaeology – reconstruction of archaeological items and fragments
• RBF large neural networks

Publications

http://afrodita.zcu.cz/~skala/publications.htm

Meshless Research team:

	Prof. Václav Skala professor Research supervisor Details at http://www.VaclavSkala.eu
	Ing. Zuzana Majdišová, PhD Assistant professor Development of data structures for large scattered datasets for meshfree methods		Ing. Michal Šmolík, PhD Researcher Meshfree methods for large spatio-temporal vector scattered data sets
	Ing. Martin Červenka PhD student Development of scattered data meshfree approximations
	Bc. Zuzana Kačereková MSc.  student SN-RBF scalar data interpolation Experimental evaluations		Bc. Alex Koenig MSc.  student Hierarchical RBF scalar data interpolation & space subdivision
	External members
	Prof. Rongjiang Pan Meshfree methods for scattered data Shandong University, Jinan China		Dr. Samsul A.B.A. Karim Interpolation methods Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Jalan UMS, Malaysia
	Former researchers and students
	Ing. Jakub Vašta RBF approximation of scattered data, i.e. z=F(x,y)
	Marek Zábran MSc. student Optimal variable RBF shape parameters estimation		Bc. Jan Kašák Former MSc. student
	Dominik Poch MSc. student RBF approximation of implicit surfaces F(x,y,z)=0		Maria Martynova PhD student Scattered data meshfree approximations using neural networks
	Ing. Ondřej Nedvěd Interpolation and approximation meshfree methods for large scattered datasets		Ing. Jiří Zapletal Meshfree methods for corrupted images reconstruction
	Ing. Petr Vaněček, PhD Meshfree methods for corrupted images reconstruction		Bc. Ladislav Hobza Meshfree methods for corrupted images reconstruction using GPU
	Ing. Jan Dvořák (currently PhD student with a different topic)		Ing. Lukáš Hruda (currently PhD student with a different topic)

Contact

Prof. Vaclav Skala
http://www.VaclavSkala.eu
tel. (+420) 37-763-2473

c/o University of West Bohemia
Head of Computer Graphics and Visualization Center
Dept.of Computer Science & Engineering
Faculty of Applied Sciences
Univerzitni 8, Campus - Bory, CZ 306 14 Plzen, Czech Republic
CZ 306 14 Plzen, Czech Republic

ResearcherID: http://www.researcherid.com/rid/F-9141-2011
Scopus Author ID: https://www.scopus.com/authid/detail.uri?authorId=7004643209
Research Gate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Vaclav_Skala/publications