The automatic construction of a view-independent relational model for 3-D object recognition

A view-independent relational model (VIRM) used in a vision system for recognizing known 3-D objects from single monochromatic images of unknown scenes is described. The system inspects a CAD model from a number of different viewpoints, and a statistical interference is applied to identify relatively view-independent relationships among component parts of the object. These relations are stored as a relational model of the object, which is represented in the form of a hypergraph. Three-dimensional components of the object, which can be associated with extended image features obtained by grouping of primitive 2-D features are represented as nodes of the hypergraph. Covisibility of model features is represented by means of hyperedges of the hypergraph, and the pairwise view-independent relations form procedural constraints associated with the hypergraph edges. During the recognition phase, the covisibility measures allow a best-first search of the graph for acceptable matches