A spherical parameterization approach based on symmetry analysis of triangular meshes

We present an efficient spherical parameterization approach aimed at simultaneously reducing area and angle distortions. We generate the final spherical mapping by independently establishing two hemisphere parameterizations. The essence of the approach is to reduce spherical parameterization to a planar problem using symmetry analysis of 3D meshes. Experiments and comparisons were undertaken with various non-trivial 3D models, which revealed that our approach is efficient and robust. In particular, our method produces almost isometric parameterizations for the objects close to the sphere.