Detection of three-dimensional objects under arbitrary rotations based on range images

In this paper a unique map or signature of three dimensional objects is defined. The map is obtained locally, for every possible rotation of the object, by the Fourier transform of the phase-encoded range-image at each specific rotation. From these local maps, a global map of orientations is built that contains the information about the surface normals of the object. The map is defined on a unit radius sphere and permits, by correlation techniques, the detection and orientation evaluation of three dimensional objects with three axis translation invariance from a single range image.