SpUDD: Superpower Contouring of Unsigned Distance Data

Fuente: arXiv
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Main Authors: Wang, Ningna, Carrera, Xiana, Batty, Christopher, Stein, Oded, Sellán, Silvia
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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_version_ 1866915993139281920
author Wang, Ningna
Carrera, Xiana
Batty, Christopher
Stein, Oded
Sellán, Silvia
author_facet Wang, Ningna
Carrera, Xiana
Batty, Christopher
Stein, Oded
Sellán, Silvia
contents Unsigned distance functions offer a powerful and flexible implicit surface representation that, unlike their signed counterparts, allow for surfaces that are open, non-orientable, or non-manifold. We consider the problem of reconstructing arbitrary surfaces from a finite set of samples of unsigned distance data. Existing methods for mesh reconstruction from distance data rely on sign information, accurate gradients, a corresponding continuous distance function, or extensive data-dependent training. However, they fail when applied to input that is both discrete and unsigned. Inspired by this challenge, we study the power diagram generated by the distance samples and propose a novel theoretical concept, the superpower contour, which we prove converges to the true surface in the limit of sampling density. We use this superpower contour as an initial surface proxy and design an algorithm that leverages it to produce a polygonal mesh approximating the unknown true geometry. Our method vastly outperforms other conceivable strategies for the discrete unsigned distance reconstruction task, and sets the stage for future work on this mathematically rich problem.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2604_19568
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle SpUDD: Superpower Contouring of Unsigned Distance Data
Wang, Ningna
Carrera, Xiana
Batty, Christopher
Stein, Oded
Sellán, Silvia
Graphics
Unsigned distance functions offer a powerful and flexible implicit surface representation that, unlike their signed counterparts, allow for surfaces that are open, non-orientable, or non-manifold. We consider the problem of reconstructing arbitrary surfaces from a finite set of samples of unsigned distance data. Existing methods for mesh reconstruction from distance data rely on sign information, accurate gradients, a corresponding continuous distance function, or extensive data-dependent training. However, they fail when applied to input that is both discrete and unsigned. Inspired by this challenge, we study the power diagram generated by the distance samples and propose a novel theoretical concept, the superpower contour, which we prove converges to the true surface in the limit of sampling density. We use this superpower contour as an initial surface proxy and design an algorithm that leverages it to produce a polygonal mesh approximating the unknown true geometry. Our method vastly outperforms other conceivable strategies for the discrete unsigned distance reconstruction task, and sets the stage for future work on this mathematically rich problem.
title SpUDD: Superpower Contouring of Unsigned Distance Data
topic Graphics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2604.19568