Defining and computing multi-dimensional skeletons

Describing shapes is an important task in graphics and vision. A simple, concise descriptor that captures the essential shape properties of an object would greatly facilitate computer-based understanding of the object and applications such as matching and segmentation. For this reason, medial axes (MA) has become a popular shape descriptor since its introduction by Blum [Blum 1967]. The MA of an N-D object is an (N -- 1)-D geometry centered within the object. For example, the MA of a 2D object consists of medial curves at elongated parts, whereas the MA of a 3D object consists of medial surfaces describing the protrusions on the object.