Physics in a Fantasy World vs. Robust Statistical Estimation

Deformable models in the \physically-based" paradigm are almost always formulated in an ad-hoc fashion, not related to physical reality { they apply the equations on physics in a fantasy world. This paper discusses some of the drawbacks of this approach. Still these techniques have shown themselves to be useful, so there must be something here. This paper reinterprets these \physics-based" techniques by putting them into a framework of robust statistics. We use this framework to analyze the problems and ad-hoc solutions found in common physically-based formulations. These include incorrect prior shape models; bad relative weights of various energies; and the two-stage approach to minimization (adjusting global, then local shape parameters). We examine the statistical implications of common deformable object formulations. In our reformulation, the units are meaningful, training data plays a fundamental role, di erent kinds of information may be fused, and certainties can be re...

• Type: Conference
• Year: 1994
• Where: NSF
• Authors: Terrance E. Boult, Samuel D. Fenster, Thomas O'Donnell
• Keywords: Common Physically-based Formulations, Computer Vision, Deformable Object Formulations, Incorrect Prior Shape, NSF 1994