A query-by-example concept and user interface for global and partial 3D object retrieval

Effective retrieval of 3D objects is an important difficult problem. In addition to considering object-global similarity notions, partial similarity among 3D objects has been addressed in recent research. In this paper, we introduce a simple, yet effective retrieval system design based on extending standard global 3D descriptors with local descriptions of the objects. The approach is mapped to a novel retrieval interface concept that supports both global and local search for 3D objects. Also, an implementation of the concept is presented. Finally, experimentation performed on two benchmark data sets illustrates improved retrieval results for certain types of queries, as compared to the standard (global) retrieval approach.