Spline curve approximation and design by optimal control over the knots (Q1885202)

Optimal control methods over reparametrization for curve design were introduced in \textit{M. Alhanaty} and \textit{M. Bercovier} [Comput. Aided Des. 33, 167--182 (2001)]. The advantage of optimal control over global minimization such as in \textit{T. Speer, M. Kuppe} and \textit{J. Hoschek} [Comput. Aided Geom. Des. 15, 869--877 (1998; Zbl 0910.68214)] is that it can handle both spline curve approximation and interpolation. Moreover a cost function is introduced to implement a design objective (shortest curve, smoothest curve, minimal approximation error). In this paper, the authors study the optimal control over the knot vectors of non-uniform B-spline curves. Violation of Schoenberg-Whitney condition is dealt naturally within the optimal control framework. A geometric description of the resulting null space is provided as well.