Abstract
In this paper a novel mesh processing data structure is presented which is efficient in runtime and has an exceptionally low memory consumption. The data structure is extremely versatile and allows investigating various mesh properties without requiring any pre-processing steps such as triangle subdivision or remeshing. The data structure uses an edge-front — a sealed path of mesh edges — whose expansion can by altered to account for individual problem cases. A basic implementation of this data structure — the Minimal Edge Front (MEF) — has already been successfully used to investigate and resolve inconsistently oriented surface regions in a surface reconstruction approach based on an iterative refinement strategy. The MEF is explained in detail and it is augmented to approximate geodesic distances. Our approach allows us to analyze geodesic surface aspects independent of the mesh triangulation and the processing is limited to the investigated area. The edge-front enables to deal with open surfaces and to use points as well as lines as a starting point. The results of the process will be experimentally shown and discussed.