Inverse Procedural Modeling of Trees

Abstract

Procedural tree models have been popular in computer graphics for their ability to generate a variety of output trees from a set of input parameters and to simulate plant interaction with the environment for a realistic placement of trees in virtual scenes. However, defining such models and their parameters is a difficult task. We propose an inverse modeling approach for stochastic trees that takes polygonal tree models as input and estimates the parameters of a procedural model so that it produces trees similar to the input. Our framework is based on a novel parametric model for tree generation and uses Monte Carlo Markov Chains to find the optimal set of parameters. We demonstrate our approach on a variety of input models obtained from different sources, such as interactive modeling systems, reconstructed scans of real trees, and developmental models.

@article {CGF:CGF12282,
    author   = {Stava, O. and Pirk, S. and Kratt, J. and Chen, B. and Mech, R. and Deussen, O. and Benes, B.},
    title    = {Inverse Procedural Modelling of Trees},
    journal  = {Computer Graphics Forum},
    issn     = {1467-8659},
    url      = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/cgf.12282},
    doi      = {10.1111/cgf.12282},
    pages    = {n/a--n/a},
    year     = {2014},
    keywords = {mesh generation, biological modeling, natural phenomena, I.3.5 [Computer Graphics]:
                Computational Geometry and Object Modelling; I.3.6 [Computer Graphics]: Methodology
                and Techniques Interaction Techniques I.6.8 [Simulation and Modelling]: Types
                of Simulation Visual},
    }