Karthik Ramani and his team of engineers at Purdue University are developing a system that will enable people to search huge industry databases by sketching a part from memory, penciling in modifications to an existing part or selecting a part that has a similar shape.
"We take a 3-D model of a part and convert it into a bunch of small cubes called voxels, which stands for volume elements," Ramani said.
People can select an inventoried part that resembles the desired part and ask the system to find a "cluster" of like parts. Users also can sketch the desired part entirely from memory, or they can choose a part that looks similar from the company's catalog and then sketch modifications to that part. The system then assists in finding the desired part.
Sounds like an offshoot of face recognition technology... The Purdue University press release can be seen here.
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