<title>Implicit surface reconstruction for reverse engineering</title>

Implicit surface methods for surface reconstruction have received much attention in recent years. But implicit algorithms reported in literature are usually limited to a class of closed surfaces or require knowledge of the surface topologies prior to surface reconstruction. Here, a general implicit approach is proposed for surface reconstruction of various types of surfaces, including manifolds with boundaries and non-manifolds, without a prior knowledge of surface topology. A framework and an associated methodology have also been defined to identify the main tasks an the issue in surface reconstruction. An assessment of the methods and algorithms reported in surface reconstruction has been also carried out.