A topological framework for interactive queries on 3D models in the Web

Area of Science:

• Computer Science
• Web Technologies
• Computer Graphics

Background:

• Existing web 3D technologies like X3D, WebGL, and X3DOM allow visualization and interaction with 3D models.
• The X3D file format, commonly used for web 3D, lacks explicit topological information, hindering efficient algorithms requiring adjacency and incidence data.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce TopTri, an open-source toolkit for Web3D servers.
• To enable the creation of topological models for manifold and non-manifold triangular meshes.
• To facilitate real-time querying of adjacency and incidence information for web-based 3D applications.

Main Methods:

• Development of the TopTri toolkit for building topological models of triangular meshes.
• Implementation of web server queries for retrieving topological data (vertices, edges, faces).
• Application of topological information for generating minimal local points and iso-lines within 3D meshes.

Main Results:

• TopTri successfully builds topological models for complex triangular meshes.
• Web3D client applications can efficiently query adjacency and incidence information in real-time.
• Demonstrated applications include interactive identification of features like stalactites in 3D cave models.

Conclusions:

• TopTri provides essential topological data for interactive Web3D applications.
• The toolkit is suitable for handling large triangular meshes with millions of triangles.
• Real-time performance makes TopTri a valuable tool for advanced web-based 3D interactions.