Multiresolution Curve Editing With Linear Constraints^*

The use of multiresolution control toward the editing of freeform curves and surfaces has already been recognized as a valuable modeling tool [1–3]. Similarly, in contemporary computer aided geometric design, the use of constraints to precisely prescribe freeform shape is considered an essential capability [4,5]. This paper presents a scheme that combines multiresolution control with linear constraints into one framework, allowing one to perform multiresolution manipulation of nonuniform B-spline curves, while specifying and satisfying various linear constraints on the curves. Positional, tangential, and orthogonality constraints are all linear and can be easily incorporated into a multiresolution freeform curve editing environment, as will be shown. Moreover, we also show that the symmetry as well as the area constraints can be reformulated as linear constraints and similarly incorporated. The presented framework is extendible and we also portray this same framework in the context of freeform surfaces.