This book is a short overview of several topics in three-dimensional (3D) object processing. It consists of four chapters.

Chapter 1 provides basic information about 3D objects, with sections on representation and models; data sources, including scanners and computer-aided design (CAD) modelers; and object databases.

The second chapter covers 3D compression, including some basic principles of compression and how these apply to 3D objects. There are also sections on compressing polygon meshes, simplifying meshes, and progressive compression of meshes in which a low resolution mesh is given first and then progressively higher resolution meshes are included to provide a higher quality model. Finally, there is a section on using approximations to an object to provide compression.

Chapter 3 is on the indexing and retrieval of 3D models. It includes sections on statistical retrieval; structural approaches; transform approaches, including spin images; and view-based approaches, which are probably the most similar to human shape recognition.

The fourth chapter covers watermarking. Its main section presents 45 algorithms in less than 20 pages.

For novices, this book might prove valuable as an annotated bibliography or as a set of extended review papers, especially since each chapter provides extensive references. But it should be noted: there is far from enough information presented to really study any of these topics. Few sections--with the notable exceptions of the section on statistical retrieval and the coverage of watermarking algorithms--are more than six pages long. For someone familiar with the field, this book will probably prove less informative than a Web search on CiteSeer.