A Compact Relational Structure Representation

Abstract

This paper is concerned with th~ representation of objects by computer. It presents a compact relational structure representation derived by generalizing the properties of objects. Objects are described by means of surface primitives (basic descriptive elements) and relations between the primitives. The essence of the representation is the use of a single primitive to describe all identical parts. The representation involves abstracting properties of individual scene elements. Similarly, relations between parts of obj€cts that hold for particular instances of the objects are generalized to ensure that they will be valid for all instances. Common primitives and relations are shared both within and across models. This leads to a compact representation that has many desirable properti es . A computer implementation of a version of the representation has been developed. It is used to illustrate the descriptive power of the representation. A recognition system has been developed that takes advantage of the representation in its operation. It is described elsewhere (Shneier (1977),Shneier (1978)).