AI summary · arXiv: 2010.10726v1 · cs.CG

MINVO Basis: Finding Simplexes with Minimum Volume Enclosing Polynomial Curves

Jesus Tordesillas, Jonathan P. How
Original paper Submitted to arXiv on 21 Oct. 2020 17 pages, 16 figures License: NONEXCLUSIVE-DISTRIB 1.0

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The essentials

  • The MINVO basis is a novel polynomial basis aiming to generate the smallest enclosing $n$-simplex for any given $n^\text{th}$-order polynomial curve.
  • Outer polyhedral representations of polynomial curves are significant in fields like computer graphics rendering, gaming, path planning for robots, and finite element simulations.
  • While Bézier curves and B-Splines are commonly used due to their properties, they do not provide the smallest volume convex hull, leading to conservative estimates in applications.
  • The MINVO basis produces an enclosing simplex with significantly smaller volumes compared to traditional bases like Bernstein and B-Spline.
  • Results show that for third-order polynomial curves, MINVO's enclosing simplex volume is 2.36 times smaller than Bernstein and 254.9 times smaller than B-Spline.
  • For seventh-order polynomial curves, MINVO generates an enclosing simplex with volumes 902.7 times smaller than Bernstein and a staggering 2.997$\cdot10^{21}$ times smaller than B-Spline.
  • Overall, the MINVO basis offers a promising solution for more accurate and efficient polyhedral representations of polynomial curves in computational applications where minimizing volume is crucial for performance optimization.

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AI-generated keywords: MINVO basis polynomial curves outer polyhedral representations minimality volume

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The MINVO basis is a novel polynomial basis that aims to generate the smallest $n$-simplex enclosing any given $n^\text{th}$-order polynomial curve. This paper highlights the significance of outer polyhedral representations of polynomial curves in various fields such as computer graphics rendering, computer gaming, path planning for robots, and finite element simulations. While B\'ezier curves and B-Splines are commonly used for these representations due to their non-negativity and partition-of-unity properties, it is important to note that the convex hull they provide does not necessarily have the smallest volume. This lack of minimality leads to conservative estimates in applications. The MINVO basis addresses this issue by producing an enclosing simplex with significantly smaller volumes compared to traditional bases like Bernstein and B-Spline. The results presented in this study demonstrate the effectiveness of the MINVO basis, particularly for $n=3$ and $n=7$. For a third-order polynomial curve, the volume of the enclosing simplex generated by MINVO is 2.36 times smaller than that produced by Bernstein and 254.9 times smaller than that produced by B-Spline. These ratios increase dramatically when considering a seventh-order polynomial curve, with MINVO generating an enclosing simplex with volumes 902.7 times smaller than Bernstein and a staggering 2.997$\cdot10^{21}$ times smaller than B-Spline. Overall, the MINVO basis offers a promising solution for obtaining more accurate and efficient polyhedral representations of polynomial curves in various computational applications where minimizing volume plays a crucial role in optimizing performance and resource utilization.

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