Corner cutting and augmentation: An area-preserving method for smoothing polygons and polylines

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Abstract

A new subdivision method is presented for smoothing polygons and polylines while preserving the enclosed area. The new technique, called "corner cutting and augmentation" (CCA), operates by cutting corners with line segments and adding the cut area of each corner to two augmenting structures constructed on the two incident edges; this operation can be iterated as needed. Area is preserved in a local sense, meaning that when a corner is cut, the cut area is added to the other side of the line in immediate proximity to the cut corner. Thus, CCA is also applicable to self-intersecting polygons and polylines, and it enables local control. The concept of a "bounding hull" of a convex polygon is defined and used to show that certain implementation restrictions guarantee the existence and the G1-continuity of the limit curve, and also the preservation of convexity when the original polygon is convex. CCA allows the definition of various profiles which determine how closely each iteration follows its previous polygon. Potential applications include computer aided geometric design, an alternative to spline approximation, as an aid to artistic design, and for some applications, as a potential alternative to multiresolution curves.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)551-562
Number of pages12
JournalComputer Aided Geometric Design
Volume27
Issue number7
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 2010

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
The author wishes to thank Eli Arbel, Vlad Gorodetsky, Oded Sharon and Zohar Shavit for implementing various versions of CCA1, and Kim Phong for adding several options. This research was supported in part by Grant No. 01-01-01509 from the Israel Ministry of Science and Technology. Thanks are also due to the anonymous reviewers for their meticulous and instructive comments.

Keywords

  • Area preservation
  • Augmentation
  • Bounding hull
  • CAD
  • CAGD
  • CCA
  • Convexity preservation
  • Corner cutting
  • Polygon smoothing
  • Polyline smoothing
  • Subdivision

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Modeling and Simulation
  • Automotive Engineering
  • Aerospace Engineering
  • Computer Graphics and Computer-Aided Design

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