Constrained multi-degree reduction of rational Bézier curves using reparameterization

Abstract

Applying homogeneous coordinates, we extend a newly appeared algorithm of best constrained multi-degree reduction for polynomial Bezier curves to the algorithms of constrained multi-degree reduction for rational Bezier curves. The idea is introducing two criteria, variance criterion and ratio criterion, for reparameterization of rational Bezier curves, which are used to make uniform the weights of the rational Bezier curves as accordant as possible, and then do multi-degree reduction for each component in homogeneous coordinates. Compared with the two traditional algorithms of “cancelling the best linear common divisor” and “shifted Chebyshev polynomial”, the two new algorithms presented here using reparameterization have advantages of simplicity and fast computing, being able to preserve high degrees continuity at the end points of the curves, do multi-degree reduction at one time, and have good approximating effect.