Approximation-Based Similarity Search for 3-D Surface Segments

The issue of ®nding similar 3-D surface segments arises in many recent applications of spatial database systems, such as molecular biology, medical imaging, CAD, and geographic information systems. Surface segments being similar in shape to a given query segment are to be retrieved from the database. The two main questions are how to de®ne shape similarity and how to ef®ciently execute similarity search queries. We propose a new similarity model based on shape approximation by multi-parametric surface functions that are adaptable to speci®c application domains. We then de®ne shape similarity of two 3-D surface segments in terms of their mutual approximation errors. Applying the multi-step query processing paradigm, we propose algorithms to ef®ciently support complex similarity search queries in large spatial databases. A new query type, called the ellipsoid query, is utilized in the ®lter step. Ellipsoid queries, being speci®ed by quadratic forms, represent a general concept f...

• Type: Journal
• Year: 1998
• Where: GEOINFORMATICA
• Authors: Hans-Peter Kriegel, Thomas Seidl
• Keywords: 3-D Surface Segments, GEOINFORMATICA 1998, Shape Similarity, Surface Segments