A composite approach to meshing scattered data

In this paper, we propose a new method for approximating an unorganized set of points scattered over a piecewise smooth surface by a triangle mesh. The method is based on the Garland–Heckbert local quadric error minimization strategy. First an adaptive spherical cover and auxiliary points corresponding to the cover elements are generated. Then the intersections between the spheres of the cover are analyzed and the auxiliary points are connected. Finally the resulting mesh is cleaned from non-manifold parts. The method allows us to control the approximation accuracy, process noisy data, and reconstruct sharp edges and corners. Further, the vast majority of the triangles of the generated mesh have their aspect ratios close to optimal. Thus our approach integrates the mesh reconstruction, smoothing, decimation, feature restoration, and remeshing stages together.