Divide and conquer algorithm for a voronoi diagram of simple curves

  • Published : 1994.04.01

Abstract

Voronoi diagram of a set of geometric entities on a plane such as points, line segments, or arcs is a collection of Voronoi polygons associated with each entity, where Voronoi polygon of an entity is a locus of point which is closer to the associated entity than any other entity. Voronoi diagram is one of the most fundamental geometrical construct and well-known for its theoretical elegance and the wealth of applications. Various geometric problems can be solved with the aid of Voronoi diagram. For example, the maximum tool diameter of a milling cutter for rough cutting in a pocket can be easily found, and the pocketing tool path can be efficiently generated from Voronoi diagram. In PCB design, the design rule checking can be easily done via Voronoi diagram, too. This paper discusses an algorithm to construct Voronoi diagram of a simple polygon which consists of simple curves such as line segments as well as arcs in a plane with O(nlogn) time complexity by employing the divide and conquer scheme.

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