Level Set Methods and Fast Marching Methods: Evolving Interfaces in Computational Geometry, Fluid Mechanics, Computer Vision, and Materials Science ... on Applied and Computational Mathematics) [Paperback]

J. A. Sethian (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 13, 1999 | ISBN-10: 0521645573 | ISBN-13: 978-0521645577 | Edition: 2

In this new edition of the successful book Level Set Methods, Professor Sethian incorporates the most recent advances in Fast Marching Methods, many of which appear here for the first time. Continuing the expository style of the first edition, this introductory volume presents cutting edge algorithms in these groundbreaking techniques and provides the reader with a wealth of application areas for further study. Fresh applications to computer-aided design and optimal control are explored and studies of computer vision, fluid mechanics, geometry, and semiconductor manufacture have been revised and updated. The text includes over thirty new chapters. It will be an invaluable reference for researchers and students.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The book does give a representative picture of the flavor of the field today." Mathematical Reviews

"It is a useful introduction to a remarkably dynamic area." Mathematics of Computation

Book Description

This book is an introduction to level set methods, which are powerful numerical techniques for analyzing and computing interface motion in a host of settings. The numerical techniques can be used to track three-dimensional complex fronts that can develop sharp corners and change topology as they evolve. A large collection of applications are provided in the text, including examples from physics, chemistry, fluid mechanics, combustion, image processing, material science, fabrication of microelectronic components, computer vision and control theory.This book will be a useful resource for mathematicians, applied scientists, practicing engineers, computer graphic artists, and anyone interested in the evolution of boundaries and interfaces.

Product Details

• Paperback: 404 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press; 2 edition (June 13, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521645573
• ISBN-13: 978-0521645577
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,001,982 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not a self contained book!, October 11, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Level Set Methods and Fast Marching Methods: Evolving Interfaces in Computational Geometry, Fluid Mechanics, Computer Vision, and Materials Science ... on Applied and Computational Mathematics) (Paperback)

I bought this book with the intent of understanding the level set method AND be able to implement it in code. The book fails on the later. He gives you some basic formulas/algorithms to start with, but they are not good enough for most problems. You need to get the references (and the references of those references) to obtain the actual algorithms people use to implement the level set method.

The first six chapters are good for giving you a nice qualitative understanding of the method and the issues of implementing the method. And the rest of the book claims to show you the more advanced techniques, but whenever the nitty gritty details are needed, he refers you to the references.

My advice: just get his references. If you are at a university, then you probably have free access to the online journals that contain his (and others) research articles. In fact, this book is basically a copy-paste of those articles! Literally!

13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This is The Introduction to Level-Set Method, April 27, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Level Set Methods and Fast Marching Methods: Evolving Interfaces in Computational Geometry, Fluid Mechanics, Computer Vision, and Materials Science ... on Applied and Computational Mathematics) (Paperback)

This is a very good introduction to the very exciting technique, level-set method. The method is basically for front-tracking or interface motion. But its application turned out to be so wide that it is now applied to problems which does not seem relevant to front-tracking, such as computaional grid generation. This book explaines the basics of this powerful tool very clearly, and it is in fact easy to read. Although it was written by a mathematician, it is not very mathematical like some texts on finite-element method written by mathematicians (which are often formidable to engineers). I recommend this book to anyone in engineering. You might find a new application of this technique.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good introduction to level set methods, June 7, 2001

By 

Hugues Talbot (Sydney, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Level Set Methods and Fast Marching Methods: Evolving Interfaces in Computational Geometry, Fluid Mechanics, Computer Vision, and Materials Science ... on Applied and Computational Mathematics) (Paperback)

I use these methods in the context of image analysis, for image segmentation essentially. The book is an inescapable introduction by one of the main inventors of these methods. It is easy to read and relatively complete. Be sure to get the second edition. The only slight problems are the remaining typos. There are quite a few, for a second edition, and they might throw off a beginner. You will need to read some introduction text on finite differences methods at least. The chapter in Numerical Recipes is enough.