Abstract: Abstract: 3D mesh simplification is an operation to minimize the number of vertices and faces in the refined 3D model while preserving the geometric information of the target object. It plays a significant role in improving the access and network transmission speed of the 3D mesh data, and the efficiency of editing and rendering. To address the problem of most mesh simplification algorithms neglecting the mesh topology and visual quality during simplification, a semi-regular mesh simplification algorithm was proposed based on the inverse Loop subdivision. The algorithm first detected the feature points according to the neighborhood centroid offset. Then a seed triangle was randomly selected to obtain the regular region by edge extension, and the inverse Loop subdivision was performed to simplify the mesh. Finally, the simplified model was gained by edge splicing in the way of inwards segmentation. Regarding the open testing data, comparisons were made between the algorithm and the classical ones. The experimental results show that the proposed algorithm can preserve the features effectively and keep the regular topology structure as much as possible during simplification, and that it is superior to the edge collapse and clustering algorithm in visual quality.

Key words: Keywords: mesh simplification, inverse Loop subdivision, mesh splicing, visual metrics, semi-regular