Reading OBJ Format 3D Files into MATLAB

Reading OBJ format 3D files using MATLAB enables efficient processing and analysis of three-dimensional data. The implementation typically involves parsing vertex coordinates (v), texture coordinates (vt), and normal vectors (vn) from the OBJ file's structured ASCII format. Through fopen() and textscan() functions, MATLAB extracts geometric data which can be stored as point cloud matrices - commonly using N×3 arrays for vertex positions. This point-based storage approach provides intuitive visualization through scatter3() plots and facilitates geometric transformations using matrix operations. Mastery of this technique supports deeper understanding of computational geometry principles, including mesh processing and 3D data interpolation. The implementation may incorporate error handling for invalid file formats and memory optimization for large datasets. For advanced study, reference materials on Wavefront OBJ specifications and MATLAB's graphics toolkit provide further technical depth.