Cone spline surfaces and spatial arc splines -- a sphere geometric approach (Q1599372)

In the excellently written paper -- which is based on the author's Ph.D. thesis -- the author uses sphere geometry to analyze approximation algorithms of developable surfaces with cone spline surfaces, i.e. \(G^1\)-surfaces composed of segments of right circular cones. The comprehensive paper is structured in 5 parts: Section 1 is a briefly written introduction; Section 2 gives a concentrated introduction into 3-dimensional Euclidean Laguerre space and its isotropic model. Section 3 describes the so-called first curve approximation scheme, namely with isotropic biarcs. Section 4 provides the second curve approximation scheme producing isotropic osculating arc splines. This section also includes the proof of the following main theorem: Let \({\mathbf g}(t)\) be a picewise \(C^\infty\) curve in isotropic 3-space \(I^3\). To any point \({\mathbf g}(t_1)\) there exists a parameter interval \(U= ]t_1,t_1+\Delta t]\subset \mathbb{R}\) such that the points \({\mathbf g}(t_1)\) and \({\mathbf g}(t_2)\), \(t_2\in U\), can be joined with an isotropic triarc in the following way: the first and the third arc of this triarc lie on the isotropic osculating circles \(c_1\) and \(c_2\) of \({\mathbf g}(t)\) to parameters \(t_1\) and \(t_2\). The joining isotropic arc \(c\) is real and joins \(c_1\) and \(c_2\) with \(G^1\)-continuity, while preserving the orientation of \(c_1\). Finally, Section 5 contains the proof of the analogous to theorem 3 on Euclidean osculating arcs. It also includes a short introduction to 3-dimensional Euclidean Möbius geometry, another sphere geometry which simplifies the given proof.