Optimal three-dimensional orthogonal graph drawing in the general position model

Abstract

Let G be a graph with maximum degree at most six. A three-dimensional orthogonal drawing of G positions the vertices at grid-points in the three-dimensional orthogonal grid, and routes edges along grid lines such that edge routes only intersect at common end-vertices. In this paper, we consider three-dimensional orthogonal drawings in the general position model; here no two vertices are in a common grid-plane. Minimising the number of bends in an orthogonal drawing is an important aesthetic criterion, and is NP-hard for general position drawings. We present an algorithm for producing general position drawings with an average of at most 227 bends per edge. This result is the best known upper bound on the number of bends in three-dimensional orthogonal drawings, and is optimal for general position drawings of K7. The same algorithm produces drawings with two bends per edge for graphs with maximum degree at most five; this is the only known non-trivial class of graphs admitting two-bend drawings.