Spectral symmetry analysis

We present a spectral approach for detecting and analyzing rotational and reflectional symmetries in n-dimensions. Our main contribution is the derivation of a symmetry detection and analysis scheme for sets of points in IR ⁿ and its extension to image analysis by way of local features. Each object is represented by a set of points S εIRⁿ, where the symmetry is manifested by the multiple self-alignments of S. The alignment problem is formulated as a quadratic binary optimization problem, with an efficient solution via spectral relaxation. For symmetric objects, this results in a multiplicity of eigenvalues whose corresponding eigenvectors allow the detection and analysis of both types of symmetry. We improve the scheme's robustness by incorporating geometrical constraints into the spectral analysis. Our approach is experimentally verified by applying it to 2D and 3D synthetic objects as well as real images.