Efficient Intersection Computation of the Bezier and Hermite Curves with Axis Aligned Bounding Box

Cubic parametric curves are used in many applications including the CAD/CAM systems. Especially the Hermite, Bezier and Coons formulations of a cubic parametric curve are used in E2 and E3 space. This paper presents efficient algorithm for the intersection computation of a cubic parametric curve with the Axis Aligned Bounding Box (AAB Box). Usual solution is to represent the cubic curve by a polyline, i.e. actually by sampled points of the given curve. However, this approach is dependent on the sampling frequency and can lead to problems especially in CAD/CAM systems and numerically controlled machines use.

MODELING OF ASYMPTOTICALLY OPTIMAL PIECEWISE LINEAR INTERPOLATION OF PLANE PARAMETRIC CURVES

Context. Piecewise linear approximation of curves has a large number of applications in computer algorithms, as the reconstruction of objects of complex shapes on monitors, CNC machines and 3D printers. In many cases, it is required to have the smallest number of segments for a given accuracy. Objective. The objective of this paper is to improve the method of asymptotically optimal piecewise linear interpolation of plane parametric curves. This improvement is based to research influence of the method parameters and algorithms to distributions of approximation errors. Method. An asymptotically optimal method of curves interpolation is satisfied to the condition of minimum number of approximation units. Algorithms for obtaining the values of the sequence of approximation nodes are suggested. This algorithm is based on numerical integration of the nodes regulator function with linear and spline interpolation of its values. The method of estimating the results of the curve approximation based on statistical processing of line segments sequence of relative errors is substantiated. Modeling of real curves approximation is carried out and influence of the sampling degree of integral function – the nodes regulator on distribution parameters of errors is studied. The influence is depending on a method of integral function interpolation. Results. Research allows to define necessary the number of discretization nodes of the integral function in practical applications. There have been established that with enough sampling points the variance of the error’s distribution stabilizes and further increasing this number does not significantly increase the accuracy of the curve approximation. In the case of spline interpolation of the integral function, the values of the distribution parameters stabilized much faster, which allows to reduce the number of initial sampling nodes by 5–6 times having similar accuracy. Conclusions. Modelling of convex planar parametric curves reconstruction by an asymptotically optimal linear interpolation algorithm showed acceptable results without exceeding the maximum errors limit in cases of a sufficient discretization of the integral function. The prospect of further research is to reduce the computational complexity when calculating the values of the integral distribution function by numerical methods, and to use discrete analogues of derivatives in the expression of this function.

Study of Optimal Cam Design of Dual-Axle Spring-Loaded Camming Device

The spring-loaded camming device (SLCD), also known as “friend”, is a simple mechanism used to ensure the safety of the climber through fall prevention. SLCD consists of two pairs of opposing cams rotating separately, with one (single-axle SLCD) or two (dual-axle SLCD) pins connecting the opposing cams, a stem, connected to the pins, providing the attachment of the climbing rope, springs, which simultaneously push cams to a fully expanded position, and an operating element controlling the cam position. The expansion of cams is thus adaptable to allow insertion or removal of the device into/from a rock crack. While the pins, stem, operating element, and springs can be considered optimal, the (especially internal) shape of the cam allows space for improvement, especially where the weight is concerned. This paper focuses on optimizing the internal shape of the dual-axle SLCD cam from the perspective of the weight/stiffness trade-off. For this purpose, two computational models are designed and multi-step topology optimization (TOP) are performed. From the computational models’ point of view, SLCD is considered symmetric and only one cam is optimized and smoothened using parametric curves. Finally, the load-bearing capacity of the new cam design is analyzed. This work is based on practical industry requirements, and the obtained results will be reflected in a new commercial design of SLCD.

Learning geometry through surface creation from the hypocycloid curves expansion with derivative operators for ornaments

Geometry is one of the particular problems for students. Therefore, several methods have been developed to attract students to learn geometry. For undergraduate students, learning geometry through surface visualization is introduced. One topic is studying parametric curves called the hypocycloid curve. This paper presents the generalization of the hypocycloid curve. The curve is known in calculus and usually is not studied further. Therefore, the research's novelty is introducing the spherical coordinate to the equation to obtain new surfaces. Initially, two parameters are indicating the radius of 2 circles governing the curves in the hypocycloid equations. The generalization idea here means that the physical meaning of parameters is not considered allowing any real numbers, including negative values. Hence, many new curves are observed infinitely. After implementing the spherical coordinates to the equations and varying the parameters, various surfaces had been obtained. Additionally, the differential operator was also implemented to have several other new curves and surfaces. The obtained surfaces are useful for learning by creating ornaments. Some examples of ornaments are presented in this paper.

Sweeping surfaces with Natural mate curve of a spatial curve in Euclidean 3-Space

In this paper, we introduce the notion of sweeping surfaces with Natural mate curve of a spatial curve in Euclidean 3-space E3 . We also show that the parametric curves on these surfaces are lines of curvature. Then, we derive the necessary and sufficient condition for the sweeping surface to become a developable ruled surface. In particular, we analyze the necessary and sufficient conditions when the resulting developable surface is a cylinder, cone or tangent surface. Finally, some representative curves are chosen to construct the corresponding developable surfaces which possessing these curves as lines of curvature.

Dual-optimization trajectory planning based on parametric curves for a robot manipulator

This article presents a dual-optimization trajectory planning algorithm, which consists of the optimal path planning and the optimal motion profile planning for robot manipulators, where the path planning is based on parametric curves. In path planning, a virtual-knot interpolation is proposed for the paths required to pass through all control points, so the common curves, such as Bézier curves and B-splines, can be incorporated into it. Besides, an optimal B-spline is proposed to generate a smoother and shorter path, and this scheme is especially suitable for closed paths. In motion profile planning, a generalized formulation of time-optimal velocity profiles is proposed, which can be implemented to any types of motion profiles with equality and inequality constraints. Also, a multisegment cubic velocity profile is proposed by solving a multiobjective optimization problem. Furthermore, a case study of a dispensing robot is investigated through the proposed dual-optimization algorithm applied to numerical simulations and experimental work.

Analysing Arbitrary Curves from the Line Hough Transform

The Hough transform is commonly used for detecting linear features within an image. A line is mapped to a peak within parameter space corresponding to the parameters of the line. By analysing the shape of the peak, or peak locus, within parameter space, it is possible to also use the line Hough transform to detect or analyse arbitrary (non-parametric) curves. It is shown that there is a one-to-one relationship between the curve in image space, and the peak locus in parameter space, enabling the complete curve to be reconstructed from its peak locus. In this paper, we determine the patterns of the peak locus for closed curves (including circles and ellipses), linear segments, inflection points, and corners. It is demonstrated that the curve shape can be simplified by ignoring parts of the peak locus. One such simplification is to derive the convex hull of shapes directly from the representation within the Hough transform. It is also demonstrated that the parameters of elliptical blobs can be measured directly from the Hough transform.