# Finite Element Based Tracking of Deforming Surfaces

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/1306.4478 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/1306.4478/

## Key facts

- Cited by 1 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 19 Jun 2013.

## Built on by (most cited first, 1 of 1)

- [HMDO: Markerless Multi-view Hand Manipulation Capture with Deformable Objects](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2301.07652/) (2023)

## Abstract (arXiv)

We present an approach to robustly track the geometry of an object that deforms over time from a set of input point clouds captured from a single viewpoint. The deformations we consider are caused by applying forces to known locations on the object's surface. Our method combines the use of prior information on the geometry of the object modeled by a smooth template and the use of a linear finite element method to predict the deformation. This allows the accurate reconstruction of both the observed and the unobserved sides of the object. We present tracking results for noisy low-quality point clouds acquired by either a stereo camera or a depth camera, and simulations with point clouds corrupted by different error terms. We show that our method is also applicable to large non-linear deformations.