About this Topic - Mathematical Tools for Shape Analysis and Description - page 3

Figure 1.1: Transformation between similar biological shapes [ 195 ].
Figure 1.2: Can we transform one cup into another by translation, scaling and rotations? [ 217 ]
Figure 1.3 , the objects are perceived easily as similar by our brain: they are all pots. e criterion we
use is based on a known object's functionality and the perceived similarity follows this knowledge.
However, the objects show rather different geometries and textures, though their structure is
similar.
Probably, we have to stand with Koenderink [ 117 ], who observed that “things possess a
shape for the observer, in whose mind the association between the perception and the existing
conceptual models takes place.” In other words, shape analysis and understanding are cognitive
processes, and as such they are dependent upon the context, and consequently the viewpoint in
observing shapes.