Boolean operations on rasterized shapes represented by chain codes using space filling curves

Abstract

This paper introduces a new algorithm for Boolean operations on rasterized geometric shapes that are represented with chain codes. The algorithm works in three steps. Firstly, the chain code symbols are transformed in the Hilbert space, where the overlaid chain code symbols are recognised. After that, a suitable starting cell is determined. Finally, the walk-about through the sequence of the initial chain code symbols is performed to obtain the sequence of chain code symbols representing the shape of the required Boolean operation. The algorithm is demonstrated on Freeman chain code in four directions. The time and space complexity of the proposed algorithm is linear, which was proven theoretically and confirmed by experiments.