Abstract
We consider the approximation of convex polygons by simpler figures such as rectangles, circles, or polygons with fewer edges. As distance measures for figures A, B we use either the area of the symmetric difference δS(A, B) or the Hausdorff-distance δH(A, B). It is shown that the optimal δS-approximation of an n-gon P by an axes-parallel rectangle can be found in time O(log3 n) by a nested binary search algorithm. With respect to δ H pseudo-optimal algorithms are given, i.e. algorithms producing a solution whose distance to P differs from the optimum only by a constant factor. We obtain algorithms of runtimes O(n) for approximation by rectangles and O(n 3log2 n) for approximation by k-gons (k<n).
Extended Abstract
This research was supported by the DFG under Grant Al 253,1–2; SPP “Datenstrukturen und effiziente Algorithmen”
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
H. Edelsbrunner, Algorithms in Combinatorial Geometry, Springer-Verlag 1987.
P. M. Gruber, Approximation of Convex Bodies, in Convexity and its Applications, eds. P. M. Wills, Birkhäuser-Verlag 1983.
H. Imai, M. Iri, Polygonal Approximations of a Curve — Formulations and Algorithms, in Computational Morphology, G. T. Toussaint (Ed.), Elsevier Science Publ., 1988.
A. Melkman, J. O'Rourke, On Polygonal Chain Approximation, in Computational Morphology, G. T. Toussaint (Ed.), Elsevier Science Publ., 1988.
G. T. Toussaint, On the Complexity of Approximating Polygonal Curves in the Plane, Proceedings IASTED, International Symposium on Robotics and Automation, Lugano, Switzerland, 1985.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1990 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
About this paper
Cite this paper
Alt, H., Blömer, J., Wagener, H. (1990). Approximation of convex polygons. In: Paterson, M.S. (eds) Automata, Languages and Programming. ICALP 1990. Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol 443. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/BFb0032068
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BFb0032068
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
Print ISBN: 978-3-540-52826-5
Online ISBN: 978-3-540-47159-2
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive