A Hierarchical Shape Representation for Vision-Guided Robotics

Using an adequate representation is often the key to solve complex problems in Artificial Intelligence. Hierarchical shape representations are very convenient in domains -such as vision-based robotics- that require a trade-off between efficiency and accuracy. In this paper, we present new techniques and results concerning a hierarchical shape representation based only on spheres. We focus on the global aspects of the model that are relevant to AI applications and present a summary of its main features and the employed procedures. Since the underlying object model is the generalized cylinder, the representation lends easily itself to its utilization in conjunction with a vision system.