Skip to main content
Log in

On Voronoi Diagrams and Medial Axes

  • Published:
Journal of Mathematical Imaging and Vision Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Medial axes and Voronoi diagrams stand among the most influencing ideas in computer vision and image analysis. Relationships between them, with respect to polygons, had been noted decades ago, and recently this was extended for a broader class of shapes. More specifically, Voronoi diagrams have been considered as a means through which optimal computational geometry algorithms can be applied for performing symmetry axis calculation. This paper is aimed at establishing a closer theoretical relation between Voronoi diagrams and medial axes. Extensions of the definitions of these concepts are proposed, and the advantages of these definitions with respect to some specific but relevant cases are highlighted. In addition, medial axes are characterized as a particular case of Voronoi diagrams, and the implications of this fact are discussed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. H. Blum, “A transformation for extracting new descriptors of shape,” Models for the Perception of Speech and Visual Form, MIT Press, 1967.

  2. ______, “Biological shape and visual science”, J. Theoret. Biol. Vol. 38, pp. 205-287, 1973.

    Google Scholar 

  3. H. Blum and R.N. Nagel, “Shape description using weighted symmetric axis features,” Pattern Recognition, Vol. 10, pp. 167-180, 1978.

    Google Scholar 

  4. F. Aurenhammer, “Voronoi diagrams-A survey of a fundamental geometric data structure,” ACM Comput. Surveys, Vol. 23, No. 3, pp. 345-405, 1991.

    Google Scholar 

  5. F.P Preparata and M.I. Shamos, Computational Geometry: An Introduction, second edition, Springer-Verlag, New York, 1990.

    Google Scholar 

  6. A Okabe, B. Boots, K. Sugihara, and S.N. Chiu, Spatial Tessellations: Concepts and Applications of Voronoi Diagrams, John Wiley, Chichester, second edition, 2000.

    Google Scholar 

  7. J.W. Brandt and V.R. Algazi, “Continuous skeleton computation by voronoi diagram” CVGIP: Image Understanding, Vol. 55, No. 3, pp. 329-338, 1992.

    Google Scholar 

  8. G. Choquet, Topology, p. 17, Academic Press, New York, 1966.

    Google Scholar 

  9. E.C. Sherbrooke, N.M Patrikalakis, and F-E. Wolter, “Differential and topological properties of medial axis transforms,” Graphical Models and Image Processing, Vol. 58, No. 6, pp. 574-592, 1996.

    Google Scholar 

  10. G. Matheron, “Examples of topological properties of skeletons,” Image Analysis and Mathematical Morphology Vol. 2: Theoretical Advances, Academic Press, London, 1988.

    Google Scholar 

  11. D.G. Kirkpatrick, “Efficient computation of continuous skeletons,” Proceedings of the 20th Annu. Symp. Found. Computer Sci., 1979.

  12. D.T. Lee, “Medial axis transformation of a planar shape,” IEEE Trans. PAMI, Vol. 4, No. 4, pp. 363-369, 1982.

    Google Scholar 

  13. V. Srinivasan and L.R. Nackman, “Voronoi diagram for multiply-connected polygonal domains,” I. Algorithm, IBM J. Res. Devel, Vol. 31, No. 3, pp. 361-372, 1987.

    Google Scholar 

  14. S.N. Meshkat and C.M. Sakkas, “Voronoi diagram for multiply-connected polygonal domains, II. Implementation and Application,” IBM J. Res. Devel, Vol. 31, No. 3, pp. 373-381, 1987.

    Google Scholar 

  15. J.W. Brandt, “Convergence and continuity criteria for discrete approximations of the continuous planar skeleton,” CVGIP: Image Understanding, Vol. 59, No. 1, pp. 116-124, 1994.

    Google Scholar 

  16. R.L. Ogniewicz and O. Kubler, “Hierarchical voronoi skeletons,” Pattern Recognition, Vol. 28, No. 3, pp. 343-359, 1995.

    Google Scholar 

  17. F.-E. Wolter, “Cut locus and medial axis in global shape interrogation and representation,” Tech. Report, MIT Ocean Engineering Design Laboratory, revised version, 1993.

  18. D. Attali and A. Montanvert, “Computing and simplifying 2D and 3D continuous skeletons,” Computing Vision and Image Understanding, Vol. 67, No. 3, pp. 261-273, 1997.

    Google Scholar 

  19. R.E. Marston and J.C. Shih, “Multi-scale skeletal representations of images via Voronoi diagrams,” Proceedings of the SPIE, 1995.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Fabbri, R., Estrozi, L. & Costa, L. On Voronoi Diagrams and Medial Axes. Journal of Mathematical Imaging and Vision 17, 27–40 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1020722624682

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1020722624682

Navigation