The fitting of a curve or surface through a set of observational data is a very frequent problem in different disciplines (mathematics, engineering, medicine, ...) with many interesting applications. This book describes the algorithms and mathematical fundamentals of a widely used software package for data fitting with (tensor product) splines. As such it gives a survey of possibilities and benefits but also of the problems to cope with when approximating with this popular type of function. In particular it is demonstrated in detail how the properties of B-splines can be fully exploited for improving the computational efficiency and for incorporating different boundary or shape preserving constraints. Special attention is also paid to strategies for an automatic and adaptive knot selection with intent to obtain serious data reductions. The practical use of the smoothing software is illustrated with many examples, academic as well as taken from real life.

Due to the continuing progress of sensor technology, the availability of 3-D cameras is already foreseeable. These cameras are capable of generating a large set of measurement points within a very short time. There are a variety of 3-D camera applications in the fields of robotics, rapid product development and digital factories. In order to not only visualize the point cloud but also to recognize 3-D object models from the point cloud and then further process them in CAD systems, efficient and stable algorithms for 3-D information processing are required. For the automatic segmentation and recognition of such geometric primitives as plane, sphere, cylinder, cone and torus in a 3-D point cloud, efficient software has recently been developed at the Fraunhofer IPA by Sung Joon Ahn. This book describes in detail the complete set of ‘best-?t’ algorithms for general curves and surfaces in space which are employed in the Fraunhofer software.

The purpose of this book is to reveal the foundations and major features of several basic methods for curve and surface fitting that are currently in use.

Most biologists use nonlinear regression more than any other statistical technique, but there are very few places to learn about curve-fitting. This book, by the author of the very successful Intuitive Biostatistics, addresses this relatively focused need of an extraordinarily broad range of scientists.

Requires only a basic knowledge of mathematics and is geared toward the general educated specialists. Includes a gallery of color images and Mathematica code listings.

This guide focuses on how to make graphs and abstract physical information from data using a personal computer. This tutorial program/book package covers the elements of curve fitting and statistical treatment of data and numerical analysis. Taking a step-by-step approach, the book, the program, and the accompanying data files are designed to demonstrate common errors and pitfalls. It contains examples from analytical chemistry, chemical engineering and biochemistry. For those engineers and/or scientists who want to easily make graphs and plot physical information from data with a microcomputer.

Until recently B-spline curves and surfaces (NURBS) were principally of interest to the computer aided design community, where they have become the standard for curve and surface description. Today we are seeing expanded use of NURBS in modeling objects for the visual arts, including the film and entertainment industries, art, and sculpture. NURBS are now also being used for modeling scenes for virtual reality applications. These applications are expected to increase. Consequently, it is quite appropriate for The.N'URBS Book to be part of the Monographs in Visual Communication Series. B-spline curves and surfaces have been an enduring element throughout my pro fessional life. The first edition of Mathematical Elements for Computer Graphics, published in 1972, was the first computer aided design/interactive computer graph ics textbook to contain material on B-splines. That material was obtained through the good graces of Bill Gordon and Louie Knapp while they were at Syracuse University. A paper of mine, presented during the Summer of 1977 at a Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers meeting on computer aided ship surface design, was arguably the first to examine the use of B-spline curves for ship design. For many, B-splines, rational B-splines, and NURBS have been a bit mysterious.