Reconstruction of quasi developable surfaces from ribbon curves (Q2391882)

A geodesic reconstruction method of a developable and quasi developable surface patch from \(n\)-sided boundary ribbon curves is proposed. A quasi developable surface is generated by small non-isometric ``uniform'' deformations of a developable surface. Ribbon curves are reconstructed as the underlying curves of flexible ribbon-like devices equipped with uniformly spread accelerometers and magnetometers placed with \(G^1\) contact on a physical surface. The sensors provide tangential data at surface points. Each segment of the boundary curve of an \(n\)-sided curvilinear patch is a geodesic on the reconstructed surface. The authors suggest the method of splitting of an \(n\)-sided curvilinear patch into a network of triangular patches. This method is based on an estimation of missing geodesic curves -- boundaries of individual triangular patches. Consequently, the surface can be reconstructed by Coons triangular interpolation patches. Some examples of numerical simulation of the described method on analytical surfaces are presented, too. The suggested method can be used in many applications such as distortion-free mapping of textures onto free-form surfaces, construction of fabric shapes for garment, shoe and furniture design, etc.