# Benchmarking stereo reconstruction for 3D printable Martian terrain models

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/2606.10364 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/2606.10364/

## Key facts

- No citing papers in the map yet (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- Builds on 5 of its 14 references that are in the map.
- First posted on arXiv 9 Jun 2026.

## Builds on (most cited first, 5 of 5)

- [ShapeNet: An Information-Rich 3D Model Repository](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1512.03012/) (2015)
- [A Point Set Generation Network for 3D Object Reconstruction from a Single Image](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1612.00603/) (2016)
- [Learning a Probabilistic Latent Space of Object Shapes via 3D Generative-Adversarial Modeling](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1610.07584/) (2016)
- [RAFT-Stereo: Multilevel Recurrent Field Transforms for Stereo Matching](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2109.07547/) (2021)
- [Learning a Multi-View Stereo Machine](https://mlsanity.com/paper/1708.05375/) (2017)

## Abstract (arXiv)

Reconstructing printable 3D models from Mars rover imagery is challenging because Martian terrain is low-texture, irregular, and partially observed. We evaluate a pipeline that estimates stereo depth from NASA Curiosity images, completes geometry, and exports watertight OBJ meshes. On Middlebury, RAFT-Stereo outperforms semi-global block matching (SGBM), reducing disparity MAE from 3.22px to 0.73px and increasing valid prediction coverage from 76.3% to 100.0%. On Curiosity imagery, however, RAFT's denser disparities show weaker edge alignment and higher photometric reprojection error, suggesting that benchmark accuracy does not directly transfer to Martian terrain reconstruction. Geometry completion demonstrates a tradeoff between local fidelity and global connectivity. We find that alpha shapes preserve accurate but fragmented structure, Poisson reconstruction produces more coherent meshes but adds unsupported surfaces, and a deterministic diffusion-fill baseline is intermediate but sensitive to stereo quality. Overall, standard stereo and completion methods can produce printable approximations of Martian terrain, but reliable reconstruction requires stronger domain-specific validation.