# Top-Down Shape Abstraction Based on Greedy Pole Selection

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/1910.08954 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/1910.08954/

## Key facts

- Cited by 7 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 20 Oct 2019.

## Built on by (most cited first, 7 of 7)

- [Zolly: Zoom Focal Length Correctly for Perspective-Distorted Human Mesh Reconstruction](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2303.13796/) (2023)
- [Coverage Axis++: Efficient Inner Point Selection for 3D Shape Skeletonization](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2401.12946/) (2024)
- [CWF: Consolidating Weak Features in High-quality Mesh Simplification](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2404.15661/) (2024)
- [Learning Dense UV Completion for Human Mesh Recovery](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2307.11074/) (2023)
- [Deep3DSketch+: Rapid 3D Modeling from Single Free-hand Sketches](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2309.13006/) (2023)
- [Dynamic Realms: 4D Content Analysis, Recovery and Generation with Geometric, Topological and Physical Priors](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2409.14692/) (2024)
- [SHARC: Reference point driven Spherical Harmonic Representation for Complex Shapes](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2604.01894/) (2026)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Motivated by the fact that the medial axis transform is able to encode nearly the complete shape, we propose to use as few medial balls as possible to approximate the original enclosed volume by the boundary surface. We progressively select new medial balls, in a top-down style, to enlarge the region spanned by the existing medial balls. The key spirit of the selection strategy is to encourage large medial balls while imposing given geometric constraints. We further propose a speedup technique based on a provable observation that the intersection of medial balls implies the adjacency of power cells (in the sense of the power crust). We further elaborate the selection rules in combination with two closely related applications. One application is to develop an easy-to-use ball-stick modeling system that helps non-professional users to quickly build a shape with only balls and wires, but any penetration between two medial balls must be suppressed. The other application is to generate porous structures with convex, compact (with a high isoperimetric quotient) and shape-aware pores where two adjacent spherical pores may have penetration as long as the mechanical rigidity can be well preserved.