Skeletonization
Related papers: 20
About
Skeletonization is a computational technique that reduces complex shapes or spatial structures to their essential one-dimensional centerlines or topological "skeletons" — thin representations that preserve the geometric and connectivity properties of the original form. In robotics and AI, skeletonization serves two broad purposes. First, in environment mapping and path planning, it transforms occupancy grids or 2D maps into compact graph-like structures (related to Voronoi diagrams) that robots can traverse efficiently, enabling faster route computation in cluttered or large-scale spaces. Second, in agricultural and medical robotics, it extracts the branching architecture of trees, vines, or vascular structures from 3D point clouds or images, providing the structural models needed for autonomous pruning, harvesting, or surgical tasks. Underlying algorithms include thinning operations, distance transforms, and space colonization methods. Skeletonization matters because it dramatically reduces representational complexity — converting dense pixel or voxel data into actionable graphs — enabling real-time decision-making, topological mapping, and manipulation planning in domains where understanding elongated or branching structure is fundamental to task success.
Top Researchers
Barbara Mazzolai
Institution: —
John Canny
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Jun Miura
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Abhisesh Silwal
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Joseph R. Davidson
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Roseli Aparecida Francelin Romero
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George Kantor
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L. Wiley Nifong
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W. Randolph Chitwood
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Olatunji Mumini Omisore
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Top Institutes
Top Cited Papers
A Review of Global Path Planning Methods for Occupancy Grid Maps Regardless of Obstacle Density
Emmanouil Tsardoulias, A. Iliakopoulou, Andreas Kargakos, Loukas Petrou
Citations: 177 • 2016
Improved Informed RRT* Using Gridmap Skeletonization for Mobile Robot Path Planning
Hyejeong Ryu, Young-Hoon Park
Citations: 42 • 2019
Segmentation and 3D reconstruction of rose plants from stereoscopic images
Hanz Cuevas-Velasquez, Antonio‐Javier Gallego, Robert B. Fisher
Citations: 40 • 2020
Automatic path planning for a mobile robot among obstacles of arbitrary shape
J.L. Díaz De León S., Humberto Sossa
Citations: 33 • 1998
Branch Identification and Junction Points Location for Apple Trees Based on Deep Learning
Siyuan Tong, Yue Yang, Wenbin Li, Yaxiong Wang, Feng Kang, Feng Chao
Citations: 31 • 2022
An image-based system for locating pruning points in apple trees using instance segmentation and RGB-D images
Siyuan Tong, Jiaming Zhang, Wenbin Li, Yaxiong Wang, Feng Kang
Citations: 29 • 2023
Semantics-guided skeletonization of upright fruiting offshoot trees for robotic pruning
Alexander You, Cindy Grimm, Abhisesh Silwal, Joseph R. Davidson
Citations: 29 • 2021
Shortest Paths for a Car-like Robot to Manifolds in Configuration Space
Philippe Moutarlier, Brian Mirtich, John Canny
Citations: 28 • 1996
Robotic skeletonizing of the internal thoracic artery: is it safe?
Gil Bolotin, Walter W. Scott, Trevor C. Austin, Patrick J. Charland, Alan P. Kypson, L. Wiley Nifong, Kenneth J. Salleng, W. Randolph Chitwood
Citations: 25 • 2004
Efficient 3D Binary Image Skeletonization
Son Tran, Liwen Shih
Citations: 22 • 2006
Efficient center-line extraction for quantification of vessels in confocal microscopy images
Mahnaz Maddah, Ali Afzali‐Kusha, Hamid Soltanian‐Zadeh
Citations: 16 • 2003
Skeleton extraction and pruning point identification of jujube tree for dormant pruning using space colonization algorithm
Yuxing Fu, Yuyang Xia, Huiming Zhang, Meng Fu, Yong Wang, Wei Fu, Congju Shen
Citations: 15 • 2023
Internal hernia secondary to robotic assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy and extended pelvic lymphadenectomy with skeletonization of the external iliac artery
Grace Lepis, P.A. Khoury
Citations: 14 • 2018
Topological Navigation of Simulated Robots using Occupancy Grid
Richard J. Szabo
Citations: 13 • 2004
Visibility-based viewpoint planning for guard robot using skeletonization and geodesic motion model
Igi Ardiyanto, Jun Miura
Citations: 12 • 2013
Topological map building and exploration based on concave nodes
Howon Cheong, Soonyong Park, Sung-Kee Park
Citations: 12 • 2008
Hierarchical Path-Planning for Mobile Robots Using a Skeletonization-Informed Rapidly Exploring Random Tree*
Hyejeong Ryu
Citations: 11 • 2020
Integrating visual odometry and dead-reckoning for robot localization and obstacle detection
J. Cobos, L. Pacheco, Xavier Cufí, Dani Caballero
Citations: 10 • 2010
Vineyard Skeletonization for Autonomous Robot Navigation
Olga Contente, José Morgado
Citations: 9 • 2015
On Points Geometry for Fast Digital Image Segmentation
Abbas Cheddad, Joan Condell, Kevin Curran, Paul McKevitt
Citations: 8 • 2008