Subdividing alpha complex

Abstract

Given two simplicial complexes C 1 and C 2 embedded in Euclidean space ℝ d, C 1 subdivides C 2 if (i) C 1 and C 2 have the same underlying space, and (ii) every simplex in C 1 is contained in a simplex in C 2. In this paper we present a method to compute a set of weighted points whose alpha complex subdivides a given simplicial complex. Following this, we also show a simple method to approximate a given polygonal object with a set of balls via computing the subdividing alpha complex of the boundary of the object. The approximation is robust and is able to achieve a union of balls whose Hausdorff distance to the object is less than a given positive real number ε. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2004.