With a lot of recent developments in the field, this much-needed book has come at just the right time.

It covers a variety of topics related to preserving and enhancing shape information at a geometric level.

The contributors also cover subjects that are relevant to effectively capturing the structure of a shape by identifying relevant shape components and their mutual relationships.

Several techniques have been developed in the literature for processing different aspects of the geometry of shapes.

Others have been brought to bear on representing and manipulating a shape at different levels of detail, as well as for describing a shape at a structural level as a concise, part-based, or iconic model.

Such techniques are used in many different contexts, such as industrial design, biomedical applications, entertainment, environmental monitoring, or cultural heritage.

The sheer variety of potential applications makes this volume a timely addition to the literature, as well as of immense practical use in all sorts of fields.