Rotation invariant 2D sketch descriptor

1. A method for determining a descriptor that encodes information about the shape of a two-dimensional sketch, the method performed by a computer and comprising:

creating a first circle defined by a center of gravity of the sketch and a radius which is the taken to be the maximum distance of any point on the sketch to the center of gravity;

subdividing the first circle into a plurality of circular sectors;

creating a plurality of other circles concentric with and smaller than the first circle;

creating a set of points uniformly distributed over the sketch;

calculating a minimal distance from each of the plurality of points contained in each of the plurality of circular sectors to the arcs of the plurality of other circles in that circular sector;

determining a periodic function for each of the plurality of circles defined by the calculated minimal distances to the arcs of the respective circles;

representing the periodic functions using a Discrete Fourier Transform;

creating a two-dimensional array of Fourier coefficients corresponding to each of the plurality of functions; and

storing the two-dimensional array as a rotation-invariant descriptor that uniquely identifies the two-dimensional sketch for efficient retrieval and use in product design and product data management processes.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising scaling the two-dimensional sketch so that an average distance from each of the set of uniformly-distributed points to the center of gravity is equal to one unit.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising defining the center of gravity as the origin of the sketch and the origin of a plane on which the sketch is represented.

4. A non-transitory computer readable medium encoded with instructions for determining a descriptor that encodes information about the shape of a two-dimensional sketch that, when executed, cause a data processing system to create a first circle defined by a center of gravity of the sketch and a radius which is the taken to be the maximum distance of any point on the sketch to the center of gravity; subdivide the first circle into a plurality of circular sectors; create a plurality of other circles concentric with and smaller than the first circle; create a set of points uniformly distributed over the sketch; calculate a minimal distance from each of the plurality of points contained in each of the plurality of circular sectors to the arcs of the plurality of other circles in that circular sector; determine a periodic function for each of the plurality of circles defined by the calculated minimal distances to the arcs of the respective circles; represent the periodic functions using a Discrete Fourier Transform; create a two-dimensional array of Fourier coefficients corresponding to each of the plurality of functions; and store the two-dimensional array as a rotation-invariant descriptor that uniquely identifies the two-dimensional sketch for efficient retrieval and use in product design and product data management processes.

5. The computer readable medium of claim 4 , further encoded with instructions that, when executed, cause the data processing system to scale the two-dimensional sketch so that an average distance from each of the set of uniformly-distributed points to the center of gravity is equal to one unit.

6. The computer readable medium of claim 4 , further encoded with instructions that, when executed, cause the data processing system to define the center of gravity as the origin of the sketch and the origin of a plane on which the sketch is represented.

7. A data processing system configured to determine a descriptor that encodes information about the shape of a two-dimensional sketch, comprising

a processor; and

an accessible memory, the data processing system configured to

create a first circle defined by a center of gravity of the sketch and a radius which is the taken to be the maximum distance of any point on the sketch to the center of gravity;

subdivide the first circle into a plurality of circular sectors;

create a plurality of other circles concentric with and smaller than the first circle;

create a set of points uniformly distributed over the sketch;

calculate a minimal distance from each of the plurality of points contained in each of the plurality of circular sectors to the arcs of the plurality of other circles in that circular sector;

determine a periodic function for each of the plurality of circles defined by the calculated minimal distances to the arcs of the respective circles;

represent the periodic functions using a Discrete Fourier Transform;

create a two-dimensional array of Fourier coefficients corresponding to each of the plurality of functions; and

store the two-dimensional array as a rotation-invariant descriptor that uniquely identifies the two-dimensional sketch for efficient retrieval and use in product design and product data management processes.

8. The data processing system of claim 7 , further configured to scale the two-dimensional sketch so that an average distance from each of the set of uniformly-distributed points to the center of gravity is equal to one unit.

9. The data processing system of claim 7 , further configured to define the center of gravity as the origin of the sketch and the origin of a plane on which the sketch is represented.

10. The data processing system of claim 7 , wherein the rotation-invariant descriptor is stored in an indexed descriptor database with a plurality of other rotation-invariant descriptors, each referencing a two-dimensional sketch in a sketch database.