Teruyuki Miyagawa, Japan | ISBN: | Submitted: Jun 30, 1998

Reconstruct the virtual space of the extinct animals from the 3D range image

In recent years, the methods that restore the heritages and that of the unearthed articles, or something of the cultural heritages to its original states using VR techniques, are proposed. Particularly, there are many researches that express the huge structures like the Stonehenge or the space of the incidental background by VR techniques. Also, there are some researchs to restore the imperfect unearthed articles (for instance, the bottles are oftenly unearthed). But, there are any trial works about measuring the 3D shaps or restoring the fossils of the creatures using the measured data in virtual. However,the most of the articles are unearthed fragmentary, with something shortages. So, we propose the method that restore the fossil creature's ecology and environment that was existed in virtual. First, we restored the original fossil shapes from its 3D range image (using range finder). Next, we restored the part of living body which cannot restore from the fossils by CG techniques. However, the fossils which were unearthed, are not always complete and having some lost. Even if the original fossil is complete, it is difficult to remove the obstructic, sticking parts(for instance, clary) of it. As a matter of fact, some researchers who are studying paleontology have to remove the obstructic parts from the fossils by a tool like a drill before works. Therefore, we restored the fossil's shapes that are stable and robust, fitting the deformable models of each creatures to 3D range image. Adding to some infomations of the fossil's living parts and its motions at their own environment, can make us possible to imagine the creature more definite. This, means that the method we propose is more effective than that of the usual one. (that is, to restore only the fossils.) We can restore some fossils simply that is not necessary of the expert knowledge of the unearthed creatures. We may be able to search the process of the creature's evolution in the future. The figure shows the concept of the management for restoring.

[more information]

[other authors]
Hideki Tanahashi, Kunihito Kato, Kazuhiko Yamamoto

[keywords]
restore, 3D shaps, fossils, 3D range image, CG techniques, deformable models