ROTATIONAL SYMMETRY DETECTION FOR CONFIGURATIONS OF DISCRETE CURVES

System and method for characterizing configurations of discrete curves based on detected symmetries in the configuration. A configuration of discrete closed curves is received. A plurality of configuration rotational symmetry sub-groups of the configuration are determined, each associated with one or more of the discrete curves, and based on each curve's distance from a configuration center of mass, equivalence class, rotational symmetry group, and sub-configuration rotational symmetry group. The configuration rotational symmetry sub-groups are determined by normalizing the configuration, including determining a configuration center of mass, determining the equivalence class and rotational symmetry group for each discrete curve, determining one or more subsets of the discrete curves based on each discrete curve's equivalence class and distance from the configuration center of mass, and determining configuration rotational symmetry sub-groups for each of the subsets based on each curve's rotational symmetry group, and relative orientations of the discrete curves in the subset.