Algorithm for generating a triangular mesh from a cloud of points

Question

In some simulation program we generate object surfaces in terms of points, each point has 3D coordinates and the vector that represents the normal to the surface at that point. For visualization purposes we would like to generate a mesh composed of triangles; each three close points form one triangle with its normal. Then we can send this information to some standard visualization programs that render the surface like VMD (Visual Molecular Dynamics).

We wonder which is the fastest/available algorithm for doing this.

Answer 1

Take a look at Jonathan Shewchuk's work, especially on his (together with his colleagues) famous papers and implementations of:

• Streaming Computation of Delaunay Triangulations

• A Two-Dimensional Quality Mesh Generator and Delaunay Triangulator

There is also fast implementation of unsorted point clouds implemented in the Point Cloud Library (PCL). Check their presentation on Fast triangulation of unordered point clouds.