Estimating Subdivision Depths for Rational Curves and Surfaces

Abstract

An algorithm to estimate subdivision depths for rational curves and surfaces is presented. The subdivision depth is not estimated for the given curve/surface directly. The algorithm computes a subdivision depth for the polynomial curve/surface of which the given rational curve/surface is the image under the standard perspective projection. This subdivision depth, however, guarantees the required flatness of the given curve/surface after the subdivision. This work has applications in surface rendering, surface/surface intersection, and mesh generation. © 1992, ACM. All rights reserved.