Flat and spherical surface approximations

State-of-the-art acquisition devices produce surface representations of increasingly high resolution. While these detailed representations are important for production, they are problematic e.g. when exchanging drafts via the internet or when a quick rendering for comparison is necessary. In the first part of the talk, I will present results and further research questions from a paper I recently co-authored on 'Variational Shape Approximation'. This approach aims at linearizing the input surface and representing it via a set of localized planar segments. In the second part of the talk, I will present some ongoing research on surface representations via balls. This work started with constructions from spherical neodym magnets and provided a set of mathematical questions. These investigations are joint work with FU Berlin and OIST.