CRII: CHS: Structurally-Aware Computation for Geometry Acquisition and Design

目前的建模软件主要关注对象的几何描述，而现实世界中的考虑因素，如结构稳定性和健壮性，已被视为单独的问题。这种分离缺乏结构信息可以为设计和建模过程带来的洞察力，并使物理构件的建模变得困难和低效。PI在这个项目中的目标是通过建立一个新的结构几何处理领域的研究计划来缓解这个问题，该领域是数字几何处理和结构工程的交叉授粉，它将把结构信息注入几何建模的所有阶段，从扫描到重建到编辑和设计，这将导致更有效的3D模型，具有更高的精确度和真实感，以物理正确的方式运行。3D打印和数字制造开启了设计和制造领域的革命；台式3D打印机的出现为非专家提供了实现复杂对象的广泛途径。这项研究将允许开发更强大、更可靠和更可用的工具来创建数字内容。除了与计算机图形学直接相关外，这里开发的几何处理技术也将适用于文化遗产应用，为将历史遗址存档和可视化以及分析保存了几个世纪的历史砖石建筑的稳定性和安全性开辟了新的可能性。PI的跨学科方法还将在几何处理和结构工程各自的领域开辟新的研究领域。这项研究将影响三个核心推动力：结构信息的3D几何获取；稳定结构的几何建模和设计；以及3D制造的原型制作。这第一个推力将开发新的方法，通过利用结构先验来捕捉大型建筑遗址的几何图形。由于障碍物和固有的结构限制，扫描经常会丢失信息。PI将改进基于扫描数据的重建方法，包括对建筑物的结构正确的、因此更真实的数字表示的约束。将开发算法，将捕获的表面几何图形自动转换为可用结构力学方法分析的体积质量模型。第二个推力将为和谐整合结构目标的新型计算机辅助设计(CAD)工具奠定基础。曲面和体积建模的进展在工程和设计中产生了广泛的影响。虽然现代建筑的特点是自由形状的爆炸式增长，但这些富有表现力的形状往往是以高昂的材料和建筑成本为代价实现的。现有的软件缺乏帮助设计师改进几何结构的能力，例如，减少内力和所需材料。PI将研究探索与结构约束相关的能源景观的形状优化方法。第三次推力将使用数字制造技术验证前两次推力的优化几何形状。将虚拟模型转变为物理人工制品的过程受到许多限制。PI将开发计算工具，以解决大规模原型的坚固性、材料的经济使用和印刷适宜性方面的问题。缩放的3D打印模型将支持对前面讨论的建模概念进行有效的物理验证。

Current modeling software is primarily concerned with geometric descriptions of objects, while real-world considerations such as structural stability and robustness have been treated as a separate issue. This separation lacks the insights that structural information can bring to the design and modeling process, and makes the modeling of physical artifacts difficult and inefficient. The PI's goal in this project is to alleviate this problem by establishing a research program in a new field of structural geometry processing, a cross-pollination of digital geometry processing and structural engineering, which will infuse structural information into all stages of geometric modeling, from scanning to reconstruction to editing and design, and which will lead to more efficient 3D models with a higher degree of accuracy and realism that behave in a physically-correct manner. 3D printing and digital fabrication have started a revolution in design and manufacturing; the emergence of desktop 3D printers has delivered widespread accessibility to non-experts for realizing complex objects. This research will allow the development of more robust, reliable, and usable tools for creating digital content. Aside from their direct relevance to computer graphics, the geometry processing technologies to be developed here will also have applicability to cultural heritage applications, opening up new possibilities for archiving and visualizing historic sites, and for analyzing the stability and safety of historic masonry buildings that have survived for centuries. The PI's interdisciplinary approach will also open new areas of research in the respective fields of geometry processing and structural engineering. This research will impact three core thrusts: structurally-informed 3D geometry acquisition; geometric modeling and design of stable structures; and prototyping with 3D fabrication. This first thrust will develop new methods to capture the geometry of large architectural sites by exploiting structural priors. Scans often suffer from missing information due to obstructions and inherent construction limitations. The PI will improve on reconstruction methods from scan data by incorporating constraints for structurally-correct, and hence more faithful, digital representations of buildings. Algorithms will be developed to automatically translate captured surface geometry into volumetric mass models that can be analyzed by structural mechanics methods. The second thrust will develop the foundation for a new class of Computer-Aided-Design (CAD) tools that harmoniously integrate structural objectives. Advances in surface and volumetric modeling have had wide influence in engineering and design. While contemporary buildings now feature an explosion of free-form shapes, these expressive shapes are often achieved at the expense of high material and construction costs. Existing software lacks the ability to aid designers in improving geometry, for example, to reduce internal forces and required material. The PI will investigate shape optimization methods for exploring energy landscapes linked with structural constraints. The third thrust will validate the optimized geometry from the first two thrusts using digital fabrication technology. The process of turning a virtual model into a physical artifact is subject to many constraints. The PI will develop computational tools to address problems in robustness, economic use of material, and printability for large-scale prototypes. Scaled 3D printed models will enable effective physical validation of the modeling concepts previously discussed.