Similarity Search for Voxelized CAD Objects

Abstract

Similarity search in database systems is becoming an increasingly important task in modern application domains such as multimedia, molecular biology, medical imaging, and many others. Especially for CAD (Computer-Aided Design), suitable similarity models and a clear representation of the results can help to reduce the cost of developing and producing new parts by maximizing the reuse of existing parts. In this chapter, we present different similarity models for voxelized CAD data based on space partitioning and data partitioning. Based on these similarity models, we introduce anindustrial prototype, called BOSS, which helps the user to get an overview over a set of CAD objects. BOSS allows the user to easily browse large data collections by graphically displaying the results of a hierarchical clustering algorithm. This representation is well suited for the evaluation of similarity models and to aid an industrial user searching for similar parts.