Hierarchical coding of 3D models with subdivision surfaces

We build on state of the art methods for multiresolution embedded coding of images, such as Said and Pearlman´s (1996) set partitioning in hierarchical trees, and combine them with ideas for 3D objects modelling with subdivision surfaces, to obtain a new technique for hierarchical 3D model coding. The compression ratios we obtain are better than or similar to previously reported ones but, perhaps more importantly, the truly hierarchical coding of 3D objects we propose allows their efficient multiresolution animation. This kind of technique could have a major impact on VRML and MPEG-4, the two ISO standards that now deal with the coding of 3D objects, which are in both cases static and linearly approximated by polygonal meshes. In future versions of those standards, that will have to address the coding of dynamic 3D objects, these will most likely be modelled with higher order primitives such as subdivision surfaces.