Optimizing Query Perturbations to Enhance Shape Retrieval

3D Shape retrieval algorithms use shape descriptors to identify shapes in a database that are the most similar to a given key shape, called the query. Many shape descriptors are known but none is perfect. Therefore, the common approach in building 3D Shape retrieval tools is to combine several descriptors with some fusion rule. This article proposes an orthogonal approach. The query is improved with a Genetic Algorithm. The latter makes evolve a population of perturbed copies of the query, called clones. The best clone is the closest to its closest shapes in the database, for a given shape descriptor. Experimental results show that improving the query also improves the precision and complet…