Exact and Approximate Quadratures for Curvature Tensor Estimation

Accurate estimations of geometric properties of a surface from its discrete approximation are important for many computer graphics and geometric modeling applications. In this paper, we derive exact quadrature formulae for mean curvature, Gaussian curvature, and the Taubin integral representation of the curvature tensor. The exact quadratures are then used to obtain reliable estimates of the curvature tensor of a smooth surface approximated by a dense triangle mesh. The proposed method is fast and easy to implement. It is highly competitive with conventional curvature tensor estimation approaches. Additionally, we show that the curvature tensor approximated as proposed by us converges towards the true curvature tensor as the edge lengths tend to zero