Vertex connectivity coding for mesh compression

A method for mesh decompression, comprising:

• decoding, from a bitstream carrying a three dimensional (3D) mesh, coordinates of vertices in the 3D mesh, the 3D mesh representing a surface of an object with polygons, the polygons being defined by the vertices and an original connectivity having original edges connecting the vertices;
• deriving, according to the coordinates of the vertices, an inferred connectivity having inferred edges that connect the vertices;
• decoding, from the bitstream, connectivity differences associated with one or more edges in the original edges and the inferred edges;
• determining a recovered connectivity according to the inferred connectivity and the connectivity differences;
• and
• reconstructing the 3D mesh according to the recovered connectivity.

An apparatus for mesh decompression, comprising processing circuitry configured to:

• decode, from a bitstream carrying a three dimensional (3D) mesh, coordinates of vertices in the 3D mesh, the 3D mesh representing a surface of an object with polygons, the polygons being defined by the vertices and an original connectivity having original edges connecting the vertices;
• derive an inferred connectivity having inferred edges connecting the vertices according to the coordinates of the vertices;
• decode, from the bitstream, connectivity differences being associated with a subset of the vertices;
• determine a recovered connectivity according to the inferred connectivity and the connectivity differences;
• and
• reconstruct the 3D mesh according to the recovered connectivity.