Registration of dissimilar featureless models for inspection

General-purpose CAD-based inspection of a manufactured workpiece often involves comparing a part model created using intensity or range images of the part to a toleranced reference model of the part. Before this comparison can be made, however, the sensed object model must be registered to the reference object model. Most registration approaches assume that it is possible to identify and match features in the models and that the object models represent very similar geometries. A registration approach that deals with featureless dissimilar models is presented, and experimental results are demonstrated. Although the need for such an approach was motivated by needs in inspection, the approach is very general and can be used in a variety of other applications