StarTagger
A constellation becomes a compact formula of local connections.
An experiment in identifying configurations by the topology of their successive nearest-neighbor attachments rather than a fixed camera coordinate system.
The recognition problem
Recognize the constellation, not the absolute coordinates.
StarTagger explores a compact code for a configuration of points. Instead of memorizing where every point lies, the method records how a local constellation is assembled through nearest-neighbor relations.
The encoded relation
Incremental construction
The procedure starts from the closest pair. At each next step it selects the shortest connection between the growing set and an unassigned point, then records the index of the existing point that receives this attachment. Repeating the rule yields a sequence of parent indices.
In the preserved code this idea appears in routines such as chooseclosestpair(), naccept() and tag(). The output describes attachment structure rather than raw positions.
Interactive demonstration
The archived browser experiment uses a star-filled toroidal scene, a movable observation circle and a numeric tag. Its interface is shown below exactly as preserved in the historical screenshot (English-language labels).
Boundaries of the claim
The geometrical relations are insensitive to translation and rotation when nearest-neighbor ordering is preserved. This is not a guarantee of robustness to noise, missing points, nearly equal distances, or viewpoint-induced deformation. No broad reliability claim is made.
Status: historical browser prototype (v0.1, 2017); interactive code and archived output exist.
Related work
These connections describe related engineering ideas, not interchangeable products.