The Medial Object is constructed by rolling a disc around inside a face, or a sphere inside a volume. The locus of the center of the maximal diameter disc/sphere forms the Medial Object. The Medial Object also carries radius information, and is thus a complete representation of the original object.
Medial Axis Transformation and Medial Object
The Medial Axis Transformation (MAT) was the subject of intensive research at Queen’s University Belfast in the 1980’s and was then developed by International TechneGroup, Ltd. from 2004 onwards in the form of Medial Object (MO) computation. In recent years the Medial Object has become a key geometric reasoning technology in several EU and TSB supported projects, including VIVACE, CRESCENDO, SILOET, ANSD, SimOD and GHandI. Applications of ITI’s MO have also been explored in several academic research projects. We are aware that there are also several other groups working on MAT methods and applications.
ITI's Geometric Reasoning technology is currently in development for selective deployment within controlled and limited customer applications. Geometric Reasoning is accomplished based on the Medial Object of a solid, which is a skeletal representation providing a comprehensive source of information for a variety of applications. Many engineering scenarios require more extensive geometric information than typical CAD or Product Data Interoperability software products can provide. This is the goal of Geometric Reasoning technology.
Typical applications of CADfix Geometric Reasoning using embedded Medial Object Technology include:
- Mid-surface computation
- Geometry subdivision for finite element meshing
- CFD domain partitioning
- Machine tool cutter path definition
- Feature recognition
- Automatic model de-featuring
- Shelling of a volume model
- New applications still to be determined with customers
