# 3D Pattern Match Functions

The In-Sight Spreadsheet Pattern Match functions are used to train and find 3D patterns with Cognex's proprietary PatMax3D® technology. These PatMax3D functions allow you to locate features in an input point cloud A point cloud is a 3D structure that consists of the data points collected by a 3D vision system during acquisition. that exhibit maximum similarity to a trained 3D pattern.

The process specifics of pattern finding may differ depending on the nature of the similarity metrics employed, but the basic concepts remain more or less the same regardless of the implementation. The pattern finding process consists of two phases: training and finding.

- In the training phase, a 3D Region of Interest (ROI) containing an example of the pattern to be located is manually identified and extracted to create a trained pattern.
- In the finding phase, new point cloud acquisitions presented to the system are searched for positions that exhibit maximum similarity, according to the specified metrics. These local match positions are sorted in order of descending similarity, and the best responses above a specified minimum level of similarity are then reported.

In-Sight Spreadsheetoffers the following high-speed and high-accuracy 3D pattern match tools:

- TrainPatMax3D: Extracts and trains a pattern from a point cloud. This pattern is then used by the FindPatMax3D function Functions are tools that are available in Spreadsheet for processing and analyzing acquisitions or other results. You can add functions to your Spreadsheet job to create tool chains and produce results for specific applications..
- FindPatMax3D: Finds matches to the 3D pattern trained with TrainPatMax3D.