Level set and PDE methods for computer graphics

Level set methods, an important class of partial differential equation (PDE) methods, define dynamic surfaces implicitly as the level set (iso-surface) of a sampled, evolving nD function. The course begins with preparatory material that introduces the concept of using partial differential equations to solve problems in computer graphics, geometric modeling and computer vision. This will include the structure and behavior of several different types of differential equations, e.g. the level set equation and the heat equation, as well as a general approach to developing PDE-based applications. The second stage of the course will describe the numerical methods and algorithms needed to actually implement the mathematics and methods presented in the first stage. The course closes with detailed presentations on several level set/PDE applications, including image/video inpainting, pattern formation, image/volume processing, 3D shape reconstruction, image/volume segmentation, image/shape morphing, geometric modeling, anisotropic diffusion, and natural phenomena simulation.